"Markandeya said, 'Having quartered his army in those groves abounding
with food and water and with fruits and roots, the descendant of
Kakutstha began to watch over them with care. Ravana, on the other hand,
planted in his city many appliances constructed according to the rules
of military science. And his city, naturally impregnable on account of
its strong ramparts and gate-ways, had seven trenches, that were deep
and full of water to the brim and that abounded with fishes and sharks
and alligators, made more impregnable still by means of pointed stakes
of _Khadira_ wood. And the ramparts, heaped with stones, were made
impregnable by means of catapults. And the warriors (who guarded the
walls) were armed with earthen pots filled with venomous snakes, and
with resinous powders of many kinds. And they were also armed with
clubs, and fire-brands and arrows and lances and swords and battle-axes.
And they had also _Sataghnis_[57] and stout maces steeped in wax.[58]
And at all the gates of the city were planted movable and immovable
encampments manned by large numbers of infantry supported by countless
elephants and horses. And Angada, having reached one of the gates of the
city, was made known to the Rakshasas. And he entered the town without
suspicion or fear. And surrounded by countless Rakshasas, that hero in
his beauty looked like the Sun himself in the midst of masses of clouds.
And having approached the hero of Pulastya's race in the midst of his
counsellors, the eloquent Angada saluted the king and began to deliver
Rama's message in these words, "That descendant of Raghu, O king, who
ruleth at Kosala and whose renown hath spread over the whole world,
sayeth unto thee these words suited to the occasion. Accept thou that
message and act according to it! Provinces and towns, in consequence of
their connection with sinful kings incapable of controlling their souls,
are themselves polluted and destroyed. By the violent abduction of Sita,
thou alone hast injured me! Thou, however, wilt become the cause of
death to many unoffending persons. Possessed of power and filled with
pride, thou hast, before this, slain many _Rishis_ living in the woods,
and insulted the very gods. Thou hast slain also many great kings and
many weeping women. For those transgressions of thine, retribution is
about to overtake thee! I will slay thee with thy counsellors. Fight and
show thy courage![59] O wanderer of the night, behold the power of my
bow, although I am but a man! Release Sita, the daughter of Janaka! If
thou dost not release her, I shall make the Earth divested of all
Rakshasas with my keen-edged arrows!" Hearing these defiant words of the
enemy, king Ravana bore them ill, becoming senseless with wrath. And
thereupon four Rakshasas skilled in reading every sign of their master,
seized Angada like four hawks seizing a tiger. With those Rakshasas,
however, holding him fast by his limbs, Angada leaped upwards and
alighted on the palace terrace. And as he leaped up with a great force,
those wanderers of the night fell down the earth, and bruised by the
violence of the fall, had their ribs broken. And from the golden terrace
on which he had alighted, he took a downward leap. And overleaping the
walls of Lanka, he alighted to where his comrades were. And approaching
the presence of the lord of Kosala and informing him of everything, the
monkey Angada endued with great energy retired to refresh himself,
dismissed with due respect by Rama.
[57] Lit. an engine killing a hundred. Perhaps, some kind of
rude cannon.
[58] Perhaps, brands or torches steeped in wax, intended to be
thrown in a burning state, amongst the foe. Readers of Indian
history know how Lord Lake was repulsed from Bharatpore by means
of huge bales of cotton, steeped in oil, rolled from the
ramparts of that town, in a burning state, towards the advancing
English.
[59] Lit. be a Purusha (male)! Manhood would not be appropriate
in connection with a Rakshasa.
"'The descendant of Raghu then caused the ramparts of Lanka to be broken
down by a united attack of all those monkeys endued with the speed of
the wind. Then Lakshmana, with Vibhishana and the king of the bears
marching in the van, blew up the southern gate of the city that was
almost impregnable. Rama then attacked Lanka with a hundred thousand
crores of monkeys, all possessed of great skill in battle, and endued
with reddish complexions like those of young camels. And those crores of
greyish bears with long arms, and legs and huge paws, and generally
supporting themselves on their broad haunches, were also urged on to
support the attack. And in consequence of those monkeys leaping up and
leaping down and leaping in transverse directions, the Sun himself, his
bright disc completely shaded, became invisible for the dust they
raised. And the citizens of Lanka beheld the wall of their town assume
all over a tawny hue, covered by monkeys of complexions yellow as the
ears of paddy, and grey as _Shirisha_ flowers, and red as the rising
Sun, and white as flax or hemp. And the Rakshasas, O king, with their
wives and elders, were struck with wonders at that sight. And the monkey
warriors began to pull down pillars made of precious stones and the
terraces and tops of palatial mansions. And breaking into fragments the
propellers of catapults and other engines, they began to cast them about
in all directions. And taking up the _Sataghnis_ along with the discs,
the clubs, and stones, they threw them down into the city with great
force and loud noise. And attacked thus by the monkeys, those Rakshasas
that had been placed on the walls to guard them, fled precipitately by
hundreds and thousands.
"'Then hundreds of thousands of Rakshasas, of terrible mien, and capable
of assuming any form at will, came out at the command of the king. And
pouring a perfect shower of arrows and driving the denizens of the
forest, those warriors, displaying great prowess, adorned the ramparts.
And soon those wanderers of the night, looking like masses of flesh, and
of terrible mien, forced the monkeys to leave the walls. And mangled by
the enemies' lances, numerous monkey-chiefs fell down from the ramparts,
and crushed by the falling columns and gate-ways, numerous Rakshasas
also fell down to rise no more. And the monkeys and the brave Rakshasas
that commenced to eat up the foe, struggled, seizing one another by the
hair, and mangling and tearing one another with their nails and teeth.
And the monkeys and the Rakshasas roared and yelled frightfully, and
while many of both parties were slain and fell down to rise no more,
neither side gave up the contest. And Rama continued all the while to
shower a thick downpour of arrows like the very clouds. And the arrows
he shot, enveloping Lanka, killed large numbers of Rakshasas. And the
son of Sumitra, too, that mighty bowman incapable of being fatigued in
battle, naming particular Rakshasas stationed on the ramparts, slew them
with his clothyard shafts. And then the monkey host, having achieved
success was withdrawn at the command of Rama, after it had thus pulled
down the fortifications of Lanka and made all objects within the city
capable of being aimed at by the besieging force.'"