Hari Om.
Let us begin the ninety sixth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
With all his key warriors gone, rAvaNa was now forced into the battle. He had high hopes of himself which were dashed by rAma in a spectacular fashion [6.059] when his crown was shattered and he was spared with his life by a very considerate enemy. And then he deployed one warrior after the other with no identical outcomes. Only the warrior who rose to the occasion from the side of rAma was different on each occasion. Now, mustering all his forces, rAvaNa, still a big threat entered the battlefield with three trusted lieutenants who were in fact his yes men all these days and had cozily kept themselves alive in his proximity, massaging his ego from time to time. Those three, viz., mahOdara, mahApArSwa and virUpAksha were exposed to the enemy for the first time. [other demons with this name who died before seem to be different with the same name!] The end of the demon clan as forewarned by mAricha [3.37], sItA [3.48] and others seemed well nigh as the last few survivors came out to battle the spirited army of rAma. rAvaNa came down heavily on the vAnara army injuring them badly with his onslaught. Onwards…
As the ten-headed launched an all-out offensive with his bow and arrows, the earth was filled with vAnara warriors who were scattered all over. They were not able to withstand the fiery wrath of rAvaNa like the flies can’t stand the fire. He unleashed such fury that the vAnaras fled in all directions like clouds blown away by the winds or like the elephants flee when chased with torches. The demon king, having taken the battle to the vAnara camp and leaving them tattered, reached nearer to where rAma was in quick time.
In the meantime sugrIva observed his ranks getting hammered and shattered, handed the responsibility of manning the army to sushENa and himself made up his mind to fight. He provided support to sushENa in form of some more valorous warriors and himself set off to the battlefield wielding trees as his weapons. All other key vAnara generals accompanied him all around wielding boulders and mighty trees. Renting loud war cries, sugrIva advanced, felling many a great demon on his way including gigantic ones like trees hit by torrential winds during the great dissolution. They rained boulders on the demon army like the rain shower on the birds in the forest. The hurling boulders beheaded many demons and their heads were thrown off like the broken mountain peaks as sugrIva kept letting out loud war cries and kept knocking them down.
Watching the demons take a hammering, virUpAksha, a great bow wielding warrior, a mahAratha left his chariot and boarded on the back of an elephant. He began to attack the vAnaras with his bow and arrows. He aimed at sugrIva and hurt him with his arrows sending the rAkshasas into raptures. Hit by his unerring arrows, sugrIva was livid and made up his mind to vanquish virUpAksha. Grabbing a mighty tree, sugrIva stood in front of that huge elephant which was carrying virUpAksha and gave it a mighty blow. The giant elephant winced in pain and retreated a bow length. The demon virUpAksha deserted that bruised elephant and pulling out a huge sword from its scabbard accosted sugrIva who stood his ground menacingly.
Grabbing a huge boulder that looked like a large black cloud, sugrIva hurled it at the oncoming demon. Watching the oncoming boulder the agile rAkshasa dodged it deftly and hit sugrIva hard with his sword. Copping that mighty blow, the heroic sugrIva lost his senses for a while. Then picking himself up in a trice, leaping up, he landed a mighty blow with his fist on the chest of the demon virUpAksha. The night ranger copped that blow and attacking with his sword destroyed the armour of sugrIva. In that impact sugrIva lost his balance and fell down.
Then getting up, sugrIva let out a loud cry and with his hand slapped the demon intending to land that thunderbolt like blow on him. The demon skilfully dodged that slap and softened its impact and hit on sugrIva’s chest with his fist. Livid at the demon dodging his slap, sugrIva noticed the forehead of the demon and landed a thunderbolt like mighty slap on his temple. The impact of that slap was too much for virUpAksha and he fell down vomiting blood and bleeding from his ears and all over like water flowing out of a pot of holes.
विवृत्तनयनं क्रोधात् सफेनं रुधिराप्लुतम् ।
ददृशुस्ते विरूपाक्षम् विरूपाक्षतरं कृतम् ॥
The vAnaras saw the enemy lying in a pool of blood, wincing and screaming in pain, with his already crooked eyes (virUpAksha) having become even more crooked! Then a great battle resumed between the armies of the vAnaras and the demons which was like two oceans were clashing with each other. The vAnara army surged in joy like the gushing gangA seeing the crooked eyed virUpAksha felled by their mighty king.
Here we conclude the ninety sixth 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: 6.097. Swift sugrIva slays the mighty mahOdara
Previous: 6.095. No one to shield him, rAvaNa out to war
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 