Hari Om.
Let us begin the eighty first sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The vAnaras were resolutely inflicting heavy loss to the enemy. No warrior who stormed into the battlefield returned alive. Irrespective of how valiantly they fought, there was someone or the other in the vAnara army who could upstage him. And when indrajit felled all. The unfallen hanumAn rescued all by getting the life-saving herbs all the way from the himAlayas! Now, the last trump card of rAvaNa, indrajit was out to battle the unfailing forces of rAma. He was the only one so far to have returned undefeated from the battle. However in the current outing, rAma and lakshmaNa seemed to have got a measure of his tactics and resisted him well even if they were badly hit and injured by the invisible enemy. A livid lakshmaNa sought permission to use the all-annihilating brahmAstra to wipe out all the demons. But rAma didn’t permit and asked him to persevere and wait for a chance to slay the trickster. Onwards…
indrajit heard the conversation of rAma and lakshmaNa and grasping that they were not in a mood to relent or attack with the brahmAstra, he went back to lanka. He was haunted by the memories of many-a-demon who was vanquished in the battle and with his eyes red in anger, hastened out of lanka again. This time, the thorn in the flesh of the gods, indrajit went to the western threshold of lanka (hanumAn was taking the charge here). He noticed that the duo of rAma and lakshmaNa were battle ready and thought of deploying his magical powers [6.031, like rAvaNa did]. He entered accompanied and protected by a mighty force, placed an illusory sItA in his chariot and displaying his intentions to slay the illusory sItA and devastate everyone, the crook went in front of the vAnaras.
The vAnaras, alert to the advent of indrajit, eager for the battle, held their weapons of boulders etc up and were ready to attack led by hanumAn who wielded a large mountain peak. As he approached the chariot, he beheld sItA in the chariot of indrajit, completely devastated, un-plated and unkempt hair, emaciated due to lack of food intake, her single cloth and limbs soiled and full of dust! He had seen her not too long ago and hence was sure that it was sItA who was held by indrajit. He was distraught, dumbfounded to find her thus. He was moved to tears at her plight and wondered what the demon would do to her now and hastened towards the chariot of rAvaNI along with other warriors (rAvaNa’s son, indrajit).
The demon indrajit was enraged to see the approaching vAnara forces, grabbed sItA by her braid and pulled out his sword from the case and began to hit the illusory sItA he had placed in his chariot. By the spell he had created, the illusory sItA also began to scream “O rAma, O rAma!”.
Tears flowed down the cheeks of the great hanumAn seeing sItA held by her hair and he was devastated. Seeing the beloved rAma being ill-treated thus, unable to bear it, he blasted indrajit and said –
“You crooked fellow, it is only for your own destruction that you have grabbed her by the hair. Fie on you, born to a demoness in the lineage of hallowed brahmarshis. You sinner, crook, ignoble, cruel fellow, vile fellow, idiot, don’t you possess some compassion to desist from such despicable deeds? Having lost her home, kingdom and the protection of rAma, what offence has maithilI committed to you? After slaying sItA, there is no way, you will last long; this despicable deed covets death for you and you have squarely landed in my hands. Once you slay her, you will be killed and will attain the hell where all sinner who kill women rot”.
With these words, hanuman surrounded by other vAnara warriors who were armed ran towards the son of the demon king. The formidable army that protected indrajit resisted and foiled the bid of the vAnaras who were running towards indrajit’s chariot. The demon indrajit also deterred the vAnara forces with his shower of arrows and then addressing hanumAn said –
“For whose sake, you, sugrIva and rAma have come here, I shall slay that vaidEhI right in front of your eyes. O vAnara, once I slay her, I will set my sight on rAma, sugrIva, you and that ignoble vibhIshaNa. You are advising me that a woman shall not be killed. But listen, one must do whatever it takes to unsettle the enemy”.
With these words, indrajit then took his sword and slayed the wailing illusory sItA and right in front of the vAnara warriors, she fell down dead on the ground and then with great delight the demon broke out into a huge laughter and sat in his chariot and again said to hanuman –
“Ha ha ha, look at this beloved of rAma slain by my sword. With she gone, your mission has miserably failed and all your efforts are in vain”. All the vAnaras heard the blurting of indrajit who was shouting from his chariot that was well surrounded by the protecting forces.
The crooked demon was delighted at his accomplishment and seeing him thus, the spirit of the vAnaras dropped and they at once left that spot.
Here we conclude the eighty first sarga of the yuddha 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: 6.082. A poignant hanumAn attacks and reflects
Previous: 6.080. indrajit back to the battle
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
