Hari Om.
Let us begin the sixtieth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
Having breached the nikumbhilA sacrifice site, lakshmaNa and hanumAn launched an all out attack on the rAkshasa army that was guarding the place. The destruction was so great that, indrajit came running aborting his ritual midway. That brought him on to the level playing field. He knew that he could no longer go invisible, and it was going to be an even fight. He fretted and fumed but was strategically trapped. He abused vibhIshaNa and got a fitting reply. He tried to browbeat and sledged lakshmaNa but was forced to fight. He fought valiantly but the sheer staying power and determination and the grace of rAma to top it all won the day for lakshmaNa. The devout brother had been rewarded for his unflinching faith in his elder brother’s greatness. rAma was very thrilled and predicted that rAvaNa would now launch an all out attack with a huge army and was sure to meet his end soon. The demon king was about to know the devastation that had struck him. Onwards…
The ministers of rAvaNa learnt about the fall of indrajit and hastened to apprise the ten headed demon king about it –
“O king, your illustrious son was slain in the battle by lakshmaNa with the help of vibhIshaNa as we watched. Your heroic son, undefeated in many battles including with indra, met his match in lakshmaNa and falling to his arrows has made it for the higher worlds”.
Upon hearing that terrifying news of the death of his son, rAvaNa lost his senses and fainted. Recovering senses in some time, the demon king wailed as his senses wilted –
“O leader of the rAkshasa army, my dear mighty son, having won over indra, how did you fall to lakshmaNa today? When you were enraged, you were capable of even vanquishing time and the lord of death as well as the high peaks of the mandara mountain. That how did you fall to lakshmaNa today? Today the lord yama, earns my respect for he forced you to abide by the ultimate law to respect time. Being slain in the battle for the sake of the master is the way to the high heavens for all fighters including the gods. Today all the gods, guardians of the quarters, Rshis will sleep peacefully in the knowledge that indrajit is dead. Without the one indrajit, today all the three worlds appear empty and meaningless to me. Today the demon princesses will be wailing in the inner chambers like the she elephants in the caves. O repressor of demons, where have you gone leaving behind lanka, your kingdom, demons, me, your mother and wife? You were supposed to perform my last rites when after my end, but you have just made it the opposite. While the thorns in my flesh, lakshmaNa, sugrIva and rAghava are still alive, where have you gone without removing them”?
The demon king rAvaNa wailed thus and became furious. His inherent mercurial temper was triggered like the hot rays of the simmer sun as he wept over his son’s death. His eyebrows went into a knot and the forehead wrinkled as his face resembled an ocean in turbulence with its crocodiles at the end of time. As his mouth opened wide, he spit balls of fire like the demon of vRtra. The warrior in him, fully enraged on account of his son’s death contemplated to kill vaidEhI! His usually read eyes reddened further in anger. His terrifying form filled with rage resembled that of the unapproachable rudra. Tears fell from his angry eyes like the drops of oil falls from the wicks of the torches. The grinding of his teeth made a huge noise like some demons were pulling a huge machine. Wherever he cast his deathly glare that resembled the ultimate fire of the end of time, there the demons withered and tried to avoid seeing him. He thundered among the demons with his yama-like anger and indicating to keep the battle going and said –
“I did penance for thousands of years and have propitiated lord brahma on each occasion. By that immenace penance, the self-born lord brahma has conferred the boon on me by virtue of which I never fear either the gods or other demons. The armour that he has been given to me by lord brahma shines with the glitter of the sun cannot be smashed even by the thunderbolt. So when I stand with that in my chariot today who can stay the course including indra himself? I shall employ that magnificent bow and arrow given to me by a pleased brahma. I shall unleash my arrows today using that vanquishing both rAma and lakshmaNa in the battle”.
Grieving over his son’s death, the heroic rAvaNa was inflamed with anger and in that he thought about it and contemplated to kill sItA. Casting his death glances at the demons he said to those trembling subjects –
“In order to trick the forest-rangers my son only killed the mAya-sItA. I shall make that true today and kill vaidEhI who is so attached that kshatriya”.
With those words, he pulled out his sword that shone like the clear sky and walked from the court accompanied by his ministers to where maithilI was sulking in the grief of his son’s death. As he rushed thus, the demons around him let out roars and embracing each other in hope recalled the times when a number of enemies including four guardian deities were repressed by the demon king and were pretty sure that it was the turn of the two brothers now and how they would indeed panic to see him thus. They were sure that in valour and heroism there was no one equal to rAvaNa who plundered the best of everything from everywhere in the world and enjoyed it. As they eulogised him thus, he accosted vaidEhI like the evil planet accosted the star rOhiNI (dearest consort of chandra), despite being prevented by his well-wishers. The ogresses guarding the blemish-less sItA also saw him wielding that glittering sword.
As sItA saw him approaching her menacingly not paying heed to his well-wishers, she plunged into sadness and shedding tears lamented –
“The way he is approaching me, this crook will kill me like I am an orphan in spite of me having my lord. He approached me many times to become his wife and was spurned by me strongly every time. Hence he is nursing the grudge and wanted to kill me in that rage of disappointed. Or were those two brothers rAma and lakshmaNa felled by this ignoble fellow in the battle for my sake? Fie on me, for bring about the destruction of the princes! Or may be, sulking with grief in the death of his son, the crook is angry and wants to kill me. Alas, it was pure lack of judgment that I didn’t listen to hanumAn and go back with him to rAma even if he didn’t win me back. If I had done that I would be sitting in his lap today and not lamenting thus.
Alas, the heart of kausalyA will split to hear about the death of her only son as she will recall in utter grief – the birth, childhood, youth, his great deeds and his enchanting form. In total devastation she will offer ablutions to him even without being in senses and then end her life by jumping into fire or water. Alas, fie on that ignoble crooked backed manthara who had such evil intentions. It is only because of her that kausalyA has to go through all this”.
Watching the noble maithilI, wail thus as if the star rohiNI was captured by an evil planet, a minister of rAvaNa by name supArSwa, who had pure conduct and was wise addressed the demon king who being held back by the ministers and said –
“O demon king, having graduated in the study of the scriptures and vEdas, being ever eager to and engaged in prescribed activities, O hero how are you even contemplating the killing of a woman? While being patient on this charming maithilI, direct all your anger along with ours on him alone in the battle. Today is the fourteenth day (chaturdaSI) of the dark fortnight (kRshNa paksha). Go and prepare for the battle today and go forth for the fight tomorrow on the day of amAvAsya (no moon). You are an intelligent warrior who is well armed and blessed with the best of chariot and charioteer and so you shall vanquish rAma in the battle and secure maithilI”.
That wicked demon king, dissuaded thus by a well-wisher, accepted the good counsel and turned back to his palace. The heroic rAvaNa returned to his court accompanied by his ministers and well-wishers.
Here we conclude the sixtieth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 6.093. rAma annihilates!
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rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
