03.268
Mārkaṇḍeya said.
In that forest, which was rich in many roots and fruits and had abundant food and water, Kākutstha stationed his army and guarded it properly. (03-268-1)
Rāvaṇa made arrangements in Laṅkā according to the treatises. By nature, it was indeed difficult to assail, having strong ramparts and gateways. (03-268-2)
There were seven impregnable moats of unfathomable water, filled with fish and crocodiles, planted with stakes made of khadira-wood. (03-268-3)
They became unassailable by the machines of Karnataka, with piles of stones, with warriors wielding pots containing venomous snakes, and with powder of resin and sap. (03-268-4)
Clubs, pestles, firebrands, iron arrows, javelins, swords, and battle-axes, along with machines for slaying hundreds and maces mixed with various remnants, were present. (03-268-5)
At all the city gates there were various troops, both stationary and moving, rich in foot soldiers, and filled with many elephants and horses. (03-268-6)
But then Aṅgada, having come to the gate region of Laṅkā, known to the king of the rākṣasas, entered without anxiety. (03-268-7)
In the midst of the many hordes of rākṣasas, the mighty warrior shone, enveloped by masses of clouds, like the sun. (03-268-8)
He, having come before Paulastya (Rāvaṇa) amidst his ministers, invoked Rāma's message and, being eloquent, began to speak. (03-268-9)
Rāghava, the lord of Kosala and a king of great fame, said to you: "This statement is timely; accept it and act upon it." (03-268-10)
When countries and cities come under a king who has not mastered himself and delights in injustice, overwhelmed by unrighteousness, they perish. (03-268-11)
It was you alone who wronged me by carrying away Sītā by force; for the killing of those others, innocent of wrongdoing, the blame will be upon you. (03-268-12)
Those forest-dwelling sages who were harmed before, and the gods who also were insulted, were afflicted by you when possessed by power and arrogance. (03-268-13)
Royal sages have been slain, and women, weeping, have been carried away; thus, this is the result that has fully come to you for that misdeed of yours. (03-268-14)
I shall slay you together with your ministers; fight and show yourself a man. Behold the strength of my bow, O night-roaming demon in human form. (03-268-15)
Let Jānakī Sītā be released; you will never be released by me. I will make this world devoid of rākṣasas with sharp arrows. (03-268-16)
Hearing those harsh words spoken by the messenger, King Rāvaṇa, overcome by anger, could not tolerate it. (03-268-17)
Then, four night-wanderers who understood gestures of their master seized him by his four limbs like birds seize a tiger. (03-268-18)
Thus, Aṅgada seized those night-wanderers clinging to his body, sprang up into the sky, and entered the palace terrace. (03-268-19)
As he swiftly rose up, those night-wanderers fell to the ground, their hearts shattered and afflicted by the blows. (03-268-20)
He, freed from that palace rooftop, again descended, and after crossing the city of Laṅkā, arrived near his own army. (03-268-21)
Then, Aṅgada, having approached the lord of Kosala and reported everything, rested, honored by Rāghava. (03-268-22)
Then Raghu's descendant (Rama), with the full force of the monkeys swift as the wind, broke through Lanka's rampart. (03-268-23)
Then Lakṣmaṇa, with Vibhīṣaṇa and the lord of the bears in the lead, broke through the southern city gate, which was hard to approach. (03-268-24)
Then, a crore hundred thousand monkeys with bodies reddish like elephants, skilled in battle, descended upon Lanka. (03-268-25)
Because of the leaping, flying, and descending monkeys, the sun then was not visible, its brilliance destroyed by the dust. (03-268-26)
By monkeys who were like rice-flowers, radiant as śirīṣa blossoms, shining like the young sun, and white as arrows. (03-268-27)
O king, the rakṣasas, together with women and elders, saw the rampart reddened on all sides, everywhere, and were astonished. (03-268-28)
They split the jewel pillars and the spires of Karṇāṭṭa, and with force they shattered and toppled the machines, scattering them. (03-268-29)
The mighty warriors, having seized spiked missiles with wheels, along with clods and stones, hurled them into the midst of Lanka with the force of their arms. (03-268-30)
The night-dweller groups who stood on the ramparts, some of them, then fled in hundreds, thoroughly pursued by the monkeys. (03-268-31)
Then, in response to the king's command, the rākṣasas, able to take any form, went out in hordes of hundreds and thousands with distorted appearances. (03-268-32)
Pouring showers of weapons, driving away the forest-dwellers, and clearing the rampart, they acted with great valor. (03-268-33)
He, by the night-wanderers who resembled heaps of black gram, became (a rampart) once again void of monkeys, formed by those of fearsome appearance. (03-268-34)
Many of the foremost monkeys, their bodies pierced by spears, fell; and there also fell night-wanderers, broken by pillars and arches. (03-268-35)
A hair-to-hair combat arose between the rākṣasas and the vānaras together, as the heroes bit each other with their nails and teeth. (03-268-36)
Groaning on both sides, there, the monkeys and demons, though killed and fallen on the ground, do not release each other. (03-268-37)
But Rama poured forth showers of arrows like a cloud; those arrows, reaching Lanka, killed those night-roaming beings. (03-268-38)
The son of Sumitra too, wielding his strong bow and overcoming fatigue, repeatedly aimed his iron arrows at the demons stationed in fortress positions and brought them down. (03-268-39)
Then, by Rāghava's order, the armies retreated. After the battle was fought in Laṅkā, with the objective accomplished, victory was the outcome. (03-268-40)
