Hari Om.
Let us begin the one hundred and sixth sarga of the yuddha kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.The battle between rAma and rAvaNa was ravaging intensely. Both warriors were trying to outdo each other. In the process, both were exhausted. The charioteer of the demon king noticed his exhaustion and listlessness and without informing him, deflected the chariot away from the battlefield which enraged the proud ten-headed demon. He castigated his charioteer. But the articulate charioteer pacified his master. And they returned to the battlefield. On the other side, the gods and the Rshis who were witnessing the battle saw rAma battling exhaustion. Spontaneously, sage agastya stepped in and addressing rAma in a very affectionate and earnest manner gave him the ultimate mantra called the Aditya hRdayam which propitiated the Sun god. The Sun god is the source of all beings and everything else in the world and contemplating on him was the surest way to claim victory. rAma followed the sage’s diktat and recited the Aditya hRdayam thrice filling himself with energy and confidence to rout rAvaNa. The Sun god himself who was watching the proceedings along with other gods and Rshis acknowledged and exhorted rAma. rAma was back to the battle, ready to honour lakshmaNa’s challenge to end the battle that day before the sun set [6.101]. Onwards…
The delighted charioteer of rAvaNa began to swiftly navigate towards the chariot of rAma. The yoked horses were of high breed and were decked with garlands of gold. The chariot was replete with all the paraphernalia of war. It had a fluttering flag and decorated well with festoons. The chariot, resembling the luxurious dwelling places of the gandharvas, seemed to float in the sky but its resound reverberated as it ran on the ground. It caused much cheer to the demon army while it made the enemy ranks anxious. The king of men (rAma) took note of the chariot of the demon king that was advancing towards him swiftly making a loud noise. The horses yoked to the chariot were dark in complexion and looked ferocious. The chariot of rAvaNa was advancing menacingly towards rAma like a dark cloud from which torrents of arrows were being released. The shining flag on the chariot resembled lightning and the robust weapon of lord indra, the vajra. The noise made by the chariot as it moved resembled a thunderbolt striking a mountain.
Beholding the demon king, rAma twanged his bow that had bent in the form a crescent moon (ready to strike) and instructed mAtali –
“O mAtali, look at the speed with which the chariot of the enemy is coming from the right. Approaching from the right and with the speed with which he is coming, it seems, the enemy has made up his mind to kill himself on the battlefield. Take the chariot in the direction of the oncoming chariot but carefully without causing a brush. I want to destroy the enemy like the winds blow away the clouds. Don’t have any doubt or panic or anxiety in your heart. Control the reins well and direct the chariot. I ought not advise you, since you are capable of navigate the chariot of lord indra himself. However, with my single-minded determination and earnestness to fight, I am just reminding you and not teaching you how to approach this situation”.
कामं न त्वं समाधेयः पुरन्दररथोचितः ।
युयुत्सुरहमेकाग्रः स्मारये त्वां न शिक्षये ॥
अपसव्यं ततः कुर्वन् रावणस्य महारथम् ।
चक्र संभूत रजसा रावणं व्यवधूनयन् ॥
Satisfied with the articulation of rAma, mAtali, the charioteer of indra prodded his horses and sped the chariot in the direction of rAvaNa and drove it in the anticlockwise direction such that the drift of the wheels of the chariot kicked up quite some dust and covered rAvaNa all over! Livid at this treatment, rAvaNa turned his chariot towards rAma and began to rain a barrage of arrows at him. Enraged by this attack, rAma brought his aindra bow out and with arrows gleaming like the sunlight, hit back at rAvaNa. The two warriors bent upon vanquishing each other resembled two lions engaged in a combat. Then all the gods, gandharvas, chAraNas and the great Rshis who desired the death of rAvaNa converged to witness the battle.
Then a number of bad omens that were terrifying and caused horripilation began to appear which suggested the destruction of rAvaNa and the victory of rAma. The clouds rained blood on the chariot of rAvaNa (a sure sign of his loss, this omen has been seen in earlier episodes when other demons came out to the battle). The winds whirled in anticlockwise direction in circular paths. Huge eagles that soared in sky chased the chariot of rAvaNa and perched on it no matter where it went. It seemed as if the dusk had descended upon lanka and with the spread of the japA flower (china rose), it seemed as if lanka was on fire during the day. Meteors flashed across the sky and made huge noises. The well-wishers of rAvaNa became pensive. Wherever rAvaNa went, it seemed as if the earth shook there and with various hues of the sun rays – copper, yellow and red falling on him, he resembled a mountain rich in minerals. The upraised arms of the demons in the battlefield couldn’t strike as if someone held them! The e=vultures who spit fire followed rAvaNa’s chariot. Jackals looked at his chariot and howled horribly. The wind blowed against him, raising plenty of dust and clouding the vision of the demon king. Bolts from the blue struck his army without any signs of clouds in the skies. All the directions became dark with dust kicked upon all sides and the sky could hardly be seen. Hundreds of birds perched on his chariot and made quarrelsome noises. Sparks flew from the butts of the horses and fire and tears dropped from their eyes.
In this manner, a number of terrifying bad omens appeared which foretold the fall of rAvaNa. On the other hand, signs suggesting victory of rAma also appeared all over. The celestials witnessed these omens and felt relieved that rAghava is about win and they counted rAvaNa dead.
Then, the expert in grasping the omens, rAghava understood the signs and feeling thrilled at the good position he seemed to be in, stepped up his attack displaying even greater valour.
ततो निरीक्ष्यात्मगतानि राघवो रणे निमित्तानि निमित्तकोविदः ।
जगाम हर्षं च परां च निर्वृत्तिं चकार युद्धे ह्यधिकं च विक्रमम् ॥
Here we conclude the one hundred and sixth 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: 6.107. The battle like no other rages on
Previous: 6.105. Aditya hRdayam – the conquest conferring hymn to the Sun
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
