Canto VII: The End Of Ravan
The vanaras were watching all the four gates but Ravan came thru the illusory gate in the sky and landed in their midst with a thud. As he emerged from the gate, it is said that the sun lost its luster, birds started to scream discordantly. Clouds rained drops of blood horses tripped and fell. Ravan’s face lost its customary glow his voice became hoarse. His left arm and eye started to throb. All were indicative of death.
He did not heed any of these and drove at a fast pace through ranks of monkeys accompanied by the remains of his loyal mi He forged into the thick of the vanara army and fought like possessed. None of the vanaras were able to face the onslaught fury. Sugriv fought a duel with Ravan’s general Virupaksha. At last with a blow from his open palm, Sugriv killed him. Like a lake, drying up as summer advances, the forces on both sides were decreasing as more and more of them fell. Slowly it dawned on Ravan that fate seemed to be siding Ram or else how could this have happened to him – he, who was considered invincible in all the three worlds. It was unbelievable that his valiant general Virupaksha could have been killed by a single blow from a monkey’s paw. Ravan sent Mahodara his place but Sugriv took up a fallen sword and chopped off his head as easily as cutting a ripe fruit from a tree. The third and last of hi; great warriors was Mahaparshva. It was the boy prince Angada who killed him.
Seeing the death of his three dear commanders, Ravan ordered bit charioteer to take him immediately to where Ram was. Once again he came in front of Ram. He preferred to forget their first encounter when Ram had treated him so chivalrously. He saw Ram leaning against his famous bow, the Kodanda, with Lakshman beside him anc the thought crossed his mind that he looked like Narayana Himself with Indra by his side.
He passed by Lakshman and came face to face with Ram. Ram was happy to encounter him, for he had been waiting for him all these days. It was a glorious encounter. It is said that even the gods came to watch. Both were well versed in the art of warfare. The rest of the army stopped all their individual fights and came to watch this magnificent duel. The earth and sky were lit up with the brilliance of their arrows, charged with various types of incantations. In one way, it was an unfair duel since Ram was on foot and Ravan in a chariot it was an unfair duel since Ram was on foot and Ravan in a charior but Ram was not perturbed.
Now Lakshman entered the fray for he had been itching to hi a fight with Ravan. He could never forget the piteous face of his dear sister-in-law, as he had last seen her when she had begged him to after Ram. He felled Ravan’s splendid banner which had be fluttering in the breeze, with a single arrow; he then brought charioteer down and broke Ravan’s bow. Vibhishan rushed up a killed the horses. Ravan was furious. He jumped down from the char and sent the famous shakti weapon at his brother. Lakshman interver and saved Vibhishan. Ravan decided that it was high time he put end to this puny brother of Ram’s. His green eyes sparking with copper fire and roaring with anger, Ravan buried another javelin made Mayan endowed with magic powers. It sizzled through the air making a horrendous noise. It flew like an awesome meteor at its target and Ram quickly chanted a mantra in order to rob it of its strength. Thou it lost its power to kill, it was still potent enough to knock Lakshma senseless. Ram was most upset to see blood gushing out of his brother.
wound but he knew that this was not the time for weeping, so he continued to fight with Ravan. He shouted to Hanuman and Sugriv to come and take Lakshman, whom he had taken into his arms, unmindful of the fact that Ravan’s arrows were piercing him all over his body.
After handing over his beloved brother to their tender ministrations, he concentrated all his energy on Ravan. Turning to his friends, he said, “It is obvious that this world cannot contain the two of us. Either he or I will have to die. You may all take vantage positions on the hill and watch, for this battle will be talked about as long as the worlds remain, as long as the earth stands above the sea and as long as living beings inhabit this earth”! All the pent-up fury he had against Ravan which he had been bottling up for eleven months, now rose to the front and he fought like a mad tusker.
The rakshasas were night wanderers and with the approach of night they became more powerful. But with the approach of day, Ravan perceptibly became weaker. This encounter with Ram was even more fierce than the previous one and the spectators could only hear the twanging of bowstrings and could hardly see the warriors. The arrows of the demon king had the faces of fiends, lions, tigers and wolves, while Ram’s arrows looked like firebrands, lightning and meteors. At last, stung and pierced by numerous gold-tipped arrows, Ravan left the field to take rest and Ram could turn his attention to his brother who lay unconscious. He begged Sugriv’s court physician to do something for him.
“If my brother dies, I care not if I win or lose the war. I do not desire the kingdom or even my life. I seem to have lost the desire even to rescue Sita. A wife like her may perhaps be found, but I will never find another like Lakshman, who was born with me and was like my own shadow and who has been my sole support and comfort during these dark days”. So saying, Ram sobbed over the body of Lakshman.
The physician said, “My Lord! Lakshman’s face has not lost its glow, which makes me believe that he is still alive. His skin does not have the darkness which is associated with death. His palms are still pink and soft. Moreover he has all the auspicious signs of a long-lived man. So please do not grieve”.
Turning to Hanuman he requested him to go once again to the Himalayas and bring back the magic herb known as vishalyakarini which had the property of bringing a person back to consciousness. Before he could complete his sentence, Hanuman had winged his way to the north but as usual he could not recognise the medicinal herb in question so he lifted the whole peak and carried it back so that the physician could choose what he wanted. When he breathed in the healing fragrance of the herb, which the physician crushed and held to his nostrils, Lakshman woke up, as if from sleep, with no loss of energy or signs of fatigue. Both Ram and Lakshman were deeply grateful to Hanuman.
Shedding tears of joy, Ram clasped his beloved brother in his arms and said, “My dearest brother if you had died, life would not have held any meaning for me. Neither Sita nor kingdom would have meant anything”.
Lakshman was embarrassed by his words and he said, “Brother, please keep your oath to kill Ravan today. Please do not worry about me. Go and challenge him to a fight. Before the sun sets you should kill him”.
Ram knew that his brother spoke the truth but he went into a reverie and for a moment felt that perhaps he might not be able to defeat Ravan. Seeing Ram looking utterly exhausted and sitting in deep thought, the sage Agastya came to him and gave him the great mantra known as the Aditya hridaya which is a famous hymn to the sun-god, said to have the power to overcome all obstacles.
“0 prince of the Solar race – mighty armed Ram”, he said, “listen to this ancient mantra, by which you will be able to vanquish all your foes in battle. The presiding deity of this hymn is the sun and if it is chanted fervently, it will result in the destruction of your enemies and bring you victory and unending bliss. It is guaranteed to destroy all sins and allay all anxiety. Worship the golden-orbed deity of the sun, therefore, with this hymn, for He represents the totality of all celestial beings”.
The all-knowing sage knew that Ram was Narayana incarnate but he also knew that he was still unaware of his divinity and so he initiated him into the secret mantra, as a guru would initiate an ordinary mortal. By the sincere chanting of this holy hymn, not only will material obstacles be removed but also all obstacles in the path of the seeker of eternal truth. He advised Ram to look at the sun and repeat it and he would surely be victorious in his battle. Hearing this, Ram was thrilled and gazing intently at the rising sun, he repeated the hymn with all fervour and sincerity.
“Lord of victory! Lord of the East! Lord of the West! 0 Thou Immeasurable One! 0 Thou resplendent One! Golden-limbed creator of the Universe! Witness of all things! I bow to you”. After repeating the hymn three times, he went forth to challenge Ravan. Just at that moment, the sun came out in a burst of glory as if he applauded Ram’s decision and was urging him to hurry up with the deed on hand!
Ram shouted for Ravan to come out and the demon king came charging out, seated in another magnificent chariot. A fierce battle began between the two. The watching gods declared it to be an unequal fight since Ram was on the ground and Ravan in a chariot. Indra despatched his own charioteer, Matali to go immediately and take his chariot to Ram. He sent his divine weapons and armour to aid him. As Ram watched, a brilliant silver chariot with weapons shining like lanterns, yoked to ten silver-grey horses, landed gently in front of him.
