6.004. They move for the conquest

Hari Om.

Let us begin the fourth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.

The tonic of the encouraging words and assurances of the great friend sugrIva worked on rAma. He recovered from his brief pall of gloom and asked hanumAn about the layout of lanka and its security apparatus and strength. During his daring raid of lanka, after counseling rAvaNa, hanumAn was tied up with ropes and was taken around the city while the demons hurled insults at him. As much as he was capable of instantly freeing himself, he put up with the abuses and kept noting the positions and secrets of the fort. The foolish demons had fed him very useful information! On his part, hanumAn had far sight and hence without getting distracted by their tantrums and taunts he gathered data as a spy! That was the key now for the army of rAma to plan their assault. rAma, the brave and able warrior took due note of all the points detailed by hanumAn about lanka and the demons. Onwards…

Hearing out the aforementioned narration of hanumAn in entirety, the resplndent rAma shining with truthful valour said –

“I tell you the truth, the lanka of the terrifying demon that you speak will soon be annihilated by me”.

Then he said to the vAnara king – “O sugrIva, right now I would like to start the journey. The sun ascended to the zenith and the appropriate time for the conquest – the abhijit muhurta is here.

अस्मिन् मुहूर्ते सुग्रीव प्रयाणमभिरोचये ।

युक्तो मुहूर्तो विजयः प्राप्तो मध्यं दिवाकर ।।6.4.3।।

Where will the demon who has abducted sItA escape to now? Just like someone who is under the spell of poison momentarily gets relief by the touch of nectar, in sItA will spring the hope of life upon hearing about my expedition. O sugrIva, the star uttarAphAlguni prevails today and tomorrow the star hasta shall prevail. I believe we must start right away with our armies. My eye lid is twitching portending a good omen suggesting that I will vanquish rAvaNa and bring back jAnaki. It is suggesting that my desired goal will be fulfilled”.

निमित्तानि च पश्यामि यानि प्रादुर्भवन्ति च ।

निहत्य रावणं सीतामानयिष्यामि जानकीम् ।।6.4.6।।

The expert in statecraft and polity, the dhArmic rAghava then instructed lakshmaNa and sugrIva –

“Let the warrior nIla surrounded by a hundred thousand terrifying vAnaras lead the way for the army. O nIla, lead the army through cool forests that are replete with fruits, roots and honey. The wicked enemy might spoil our food on the way, be alert. Be watchful and on the look out for the demons on the way – in low lands, forests and other difficult-to-access places in the forest. Employ those vAnaras in the job of gathering food who are not very strong. Rest of you, be prepared for the hard task ahead. The mountainous warrior gaja, the mighty gavaya and gavAksha will lead the army like the bull leads the cows. The army itself will march in groups resembling the fierce tides in the ocean. Let the southern column of the army be marshalled by the great vAnara vRshabha. The western column be led by the elephantine warrior gandhamAdana. Mounted on hanumAn like indra on the airAvata, I shall be in the middle of the army exhorting everyone.

यास्यामि बलमध्येऽहं बलौघमभिहर्षयन् ।

अधिरुह्य हनूमन्त मैरावत मिवेश्वरः ।।6.4.18।।

Like the lord of wealth kubEra rides on the elephant sArvabhauma, the irresistible lakshmaNa will move mounted on prince angada. The rear side of the army will be protected by the king of Rkshas (bears) jAmbavAn, sushENa and vEgadarSi”.

Taking down the instructions from rAma, the leader of the army, sugrIva instructed the vAnara warriors accordingly. Thus instructed, the vAnaras emerged from the caves and the trees, spontaneously jumped forward enthusiastically. Felicitated by lakshmaNa and sugrIva, the dhaRmic rAma, accompanied by the vAnara army comprising of hundreds and hundreds of crores of vAnaras of strength resembling those elephants, moved in the southern direction.

ततो वानरराजेन लक्ष्मणेन च पूजितः ।

जगाम रामोधर्मात्मा ससैन्यो दक्षिणां दिशम् ।।6.4.23 ।।

Well taken care of by sugrIva, the vAnara army headed south following rAma, leaping, running, playing and roaring. Some of them carried others on them while some others fell off, picked themselves up, shoved others and moved roaring loudly in the presence of rAma that ‘the demons and rAvaNa are to be slain by us’!

As instructed earlier by rAma, nIla and kumuda were forming and leading the way for the army while their king sugrIva, rAma and lakshamaNa were in the middle surrounded by the army. The various columns of the army were protected by Satavali surrounded by ten crores of vAnaras, kEsari, panasa, gaja and the mighty arka, sushENa and jAmbvAn surrounded by many Rkshas (bears). The commander nIla along with darImukha, prajangha, rambha and rabhasa moved around controlling and keeping a tab on the army.

Grasping the terrifying command of rAma who could unleash his wrath if angry, the mighty army marched making loud roars resembling the waves of the ocean, avoiding the cities, populated villages, provinces and beholding mountains, forests, groves, lakes and ponds. The valorous vAnara warriors swiftly galloped like horses upon the instructions of dASarathi. Carried by the great warriors hanumAn and angada, rAma and lakshmaNa shone like the sun and the moon in the presence of the lofty planets Jupiter and venus.

Borne by angada, the well read and scholarly lakshmaNa the said –

“O rAma, there are good omens galore both on the earth and in the skies. The breeze blows gently and pleasantly causing much comfort to the army. The sunlight is clear and all the directions are cleanly visible. In the skies, the stars and the planets are favorably positioned for you. The resplendent Sukra (venus) has risen and is indicating your victory. The constellation triSanku (refer to bAla kAnDam, 1.58) and the star vasisTha are shining. The presiding star of ikshvAkus, viSAkha is favorably positioned and shining bright while the star of the demons, mUlA is eclipsed by the meteor shower and is depressed. This clearly foretells the destruction of the demons.

विमले च प्रकाशेते विशाखे निरुपप्लुवे ।

नक्षत्र वरमस्माकमिक्ष्वाकूणां महात्मनाम् ।।6.4.51।।

नैरृतं नैरृतानां च नक्षत्रमभिपीड्यते ।

मूलो मूलवता स्पृष्टो धूप्यते धूमकेतुना ।।6.4.52।।

The forests are endowed with excellent fruits and clean waters. The blooms spread fragrance. The well-ordered columns of the vAnara army is delightful to look at and resembles the army of the gods when kArtikEya was out to vanquish tArakAsura. All this should bring much joy to you, O noble one”.

Thus saumitri assured and comforted his brother with his insightful observations of the conditions on the earth and the astrological placements of the planets are stars which were favorable to rAma and ikshvAkus and were foretelling the doom of the demons.

The humongous vAnara army moved along kicking up quite a dust which dimmed the sun and the they covered the earth like clouds cover the sky! They walked through the rivers, holding up the waters, through ponds, went up the hills and kept moving south joyously and at the speed of the wind making screeching noises.

Scaling mighty mountains, they roared loudly, with the speed of their thighs and chest, many creepers and trees were dislocated. The gigantic army moved through the night and day thus, in utter joy and enthusiasm to engage in battle. Eager to make sItA free from captivity no one rested anywhere for even a small while.

वानरास्त्वरितं यान्ति सर्वे युद्धाभिनन्दिनः ।

प्रमोक्षयिषव स्सीतां मुहूर्तं क्वापि नावसन् ।।6.4.71।।

Soon they reached the mountains of sahya and Malaya which were home to dense forests, rivers and streams. The vAnaras along with rAma stopped there for a while and beheld the beauty of the sylvan surroundings and were stunned by it. The flora there included – bakula, tilaka, chUta (mango), aSoka, sindhuvAraka, karavIra, tiniSa, ankola, karanja, nyagrOdha (banyan tree), tinduka, jambuka (blue berry), amalaka (amla). The trees bore full blooms and fruits and looked delightful. Swaying in the winds they rained flowers on the vAnaras.

प्रस्तरेषु च रम्येषु विविधाः काननद्रुमाः ।

वायुवेगप्रचलिताः पुष्पैरवकिरन्ति तान् ।।6.4.76।।

The breeze was gentle on the skin and carried fragrance. The buzz of the bees busy collecting hiney from the flowers rented the air. The mountain rich in minerals shone brightly and the dust rose into the sky coloring the vAnaras as well. There on the mountains, a number of flowers bloomed – kEtaka, sindhuvAra, vAsanti, mAdhavI, kunda, chiribilva, madhUkA, vanjulA, priyakA, suphUrjaka, tilaka, nAga, red flowers, kOvidAra, muchulinda, arjuna, SimSupa, kuTaja, dhava, SAlmalI, kurvakA, hintAla, tiniSA, chUrNaka, nIpakA, nIlASOkA, varaNA, ankOlA and lotuses. The vAnaras jumped from tree to tree on these mountains. The water bodies on the mountains contained cool and crystal clear waters. There chakravAka, kAranDa (raven), plava, krauncha (cranes) among birds which adorned the waters. The animals – wild boars, deer, bears, jackals, scary lions and tigers, mighty elephants roamed the forests. The ponds were full of lotuses, lilies and other flowers in various hues.

In such surroundings, the vAnaras played in those waters with each other, scaled the mountains and ran down, gulped nectarine fruits, roots, broke the branches and trees and slurped honey from the large honey combs hanging there. Some of them were intoxicated drinking excess honey. The vAnaras so covered the earth like the paddy fields are covered by mud!

बभूव वसुधा तैस्तु सम्पूर्णा हरियूथपै: ।

यथा कलमकेदारैः पक्वैरिव वसुन्दरा ।।6.4.94।।

Then reaching the mahEndra mountain, rAma scaled the tree filled peak and beheld the ocean that was home to the tortoises, fish and other aquatic life.

महेन्द्रमथ सम्प्राप्य रामो राजीवलोचनः ।

अध्यारोहन्महाबाहुश्शिखरं द्रुमभूषितम् ।।6.4.95।।

ततश्शिखरमारुह्य रामो दशरथात्मजः ।

कूर्ममीनसमाकीर्णमपश्यत्सलिलाकुलम् ।।6.4.96।।

The vAnaras too crossed the sahya and malaya mountains and reached the shore of the ocean. Meanwhile rAma, the delighter-in-chief climbed down from the peak of mahEndra mountain and reached the shore along with lakshmaNa. Reaching the plain land which was surrounded by the sea water, on the bank of the ocean he said –

“O sugrIva, here we have reached the ocean now. The thoughts that we have entertained before about crossing the ocean have to come to the fore now. We need to reach the other shore of this ocean which is well, not visible. We must initiate discussions now as to how the vAnara army will cross over to the other shore”.

Having reached the shore of the ocean, the mighty rAma, tormented by the abduction of sItA, ordered the army to camp there and said –

“O best of vAnaras (sugrIva), let the army camp here while we debate on the mode to cross the ocean. Let no vAnara leader go anywhere leaving behind his troops. The vAnara warriors should be mindful of the threats and deceitful enemy that could be lurking here”.

Abiding by rAma’s order, sugrIva along with lakshmaNa made arrangements for the camping of the vAnaras in the tree groves near the shore. The vAnara army that assembled near the ocean looked like another ocean there with their noise drowning the sound caused by the sea. The enthusiastic vAnaras, eager to fight for the cause of rAma were keen to get on to the other shore and kept looking at the large ocean and rejoiced. They wondered about how to reach the other side and their contemplation of the ocean made it look like it was laughing with its waves as the dusk approached. As the tides rose at the rise of the moon, they produced multiple reflections of the moon. They reflected on the crocodiles, sharks, huge fish, serpents and other huge aquatic animals and thought that the way ahead through the deep ocean was indeed hard.

सागरं चाम्बरप्रख्यमम्बरं सागरोपमम् ।

सागरं चाम्बरं चेति निर्विशेष मदृश्यत ।।6.4.118।।

The ocean seemed to resemble the sky. The sky seemed to resemble the ocean. It was hard t tell one from the other! The ocean was glittering with gems while the sky glittered with stars and as such it was difficult to tell them apart! The rising waves of the ocean and the drifting clouds in the sky made the resemblance even more compelling.

The waves of the ocean striking each other produced noises like the blowing of the war trumpets. Tormented by the wind, it seemed as if the sea home to gems and aquatic animals rose in anger in form of the waves.