"While thus returning the vicious-souled Rāvana, with delight, carried
away stealthily, on his way, the daughters of the royal saints,
celestials and Dānavas. And whatever beautiful damsel he saw, married or
unmarried, that demon held them captive in his car, having slain all
their friends and relatives. In this wise he got on his chariot many a
female of the Nagas, Rakshas, Asuras, Yakshas, Dānavas and of men. And
they, all afflicted, shed tears, hot as firey flames, caused by fear and
fire of grief. As the ocean is filled with the currents of the rivers so
that car was flooded with their tears originating from fear and sorrow.
And wept there in the chariot, hundreds of the females of Nagas,
Gandharvas, of great ascetics, Daityas and of Dānavas. They had long
airs, graceful persons, countenances resembling the full-moon, rising
breast, slender waist like that of a black-bee and were graceful with
back like the pole of a car. They were like the females of the
celestials and the burning gold and were all afflicted by grief, sorrow
and terror and were young. And the car was ablaze on all sides with the
sighings of those damsels and Pushpaka looked like the chamber where
fire is kept perpetually. The countenance and eyes, of those beautiful
damsels, brought under the subjection of the ten-necked demon, and
afflicted with sorrow, looked poorly like a hind attacked by a lion.
Some thought—’Will he eat me up?’ and another, stricken with sorrow,
thought—’Will he destroy me?’ Thus remembering their mothers, fathers,
husbands and brothers, all those females, overwhelmed with grief and
sorrow, bewailed, some exclaiming—’What shall befall my son in my
absence? Alas! into what ocean of grief my mother or brother is sunk?
Alas! what shall my husband do in my absence? Therefore, O death, I
propitiate thee, do thou take me, who am subject to miseries. Alas! what
an iniquity did I perpetrate in my former birth in another body?
Therefore, we all, overwhelmed with grief, are sunk in the ocean of
sorrow—and I do not behold the end of my miseries. Oh! fie upon
humanity; there is none more vile than a man for they are weak. As the
stars disappear with the rising of the sun in time, so our husbands have
been destroyed by the powerful Rāvana. Oh! highly powerful is this
Raksha and he is mad after devising the means of destruction. Alas!
being engaged in such vile actions, he does not consider himself cursed;
he is as powerful as he is vicious. And though the ravishment of
another’s wife is a greats sin, still that vile Rākshasa is enjoying us
who belong to others. Therefore this vicious-minded one shall meet with
death, by his own actions.’ As soon as these words were uttered by those
chaste damsels, bugles were sounded in heaven and flowery showers fell
on earth. Being thus imprecated by those chaste females, devoted to
their husbands, he became shorn of energy and effulgence and appeared
like one divested of mind. Hearing their lamentations thus and being
honored by the night-rangers that foremost of Rākshasas entered his city
Lankā. In the interval, Rāvana’s sister, a dreadful and grim-visaged
she-demon, suddenly fell down on the ground. And having raised up his
sister and consoled her Rāvana said—’Tell me speedily, O good sister,
what you wish to say.’ Thereat that she-demon, having blood-red eyes,
closed with tears, said:—’O king, by thee, powerful as thou art, I have
forcibly been made a widow. Fourteen thousand demons, under the name of
Kalakeyas, have been destroyed by thee, O king, in the battle and
amongst them was my highly powerful husband—dearer than my life. He has
been slain by thee, O dear one, an enemy—a brother only in name. I have
been killed by thee, O king, who art my brother. For thee, king, I shall
enjoy the word ’widow’!⁸² My husband⁸³ should have been saved by thee in
the battle. But he was slain by thy ownself in the battle; art thou not
ashamed of this?’ Being thus addressed by his bewailing sister, the
Ten-necked demon, consoling her in sweet words, said:—’Of no avail is
thy lamentation, dear sister; thou needst not be afraid of any of thy
relatives. I shall please thee studiously by gifts, honors and favours.
Being mad after war-fare and desirous of acquiring victory, I was
continually making a downpour of shafts, so I could not distinguish in
the conflict between my own men and enemies,—and thus unwittingly I did
hurt thy husband. And thus, sister, thy husband was slain by me in the
conflict; I shall now do whatever shall conduce to thy well-being. Do
thou ever reside by the side of thy rich brother Khara and he shall be
the lord of fourteen thousand Rākshasas. That highly powerful one shall
give food and clothes to all those Rākshasas. He is thy cousin and that
night-ranger shall always carry out thy orders. Let that hero now
speedily go to protect the Dandaka forest and the highly powerful
Dushana shall be the commander of his forces. And the heroic Khara shall
always obey thy words and be the lord of Rākshasas assuming shapes at
will.’ Having said this the Ten-necked demon issued orders to his
army—fourteen thousand highly powerful Rākshasas. Being encircled by
those grim-visaged Rākshasas, Khara, undaunted, speedily came to the
Dandaka forest. There he governed without thorns and Surpanakha too also
resided in the forest of Dandaka."
⁸² This is the literal translation of the passage—_i.e._ for thee, I
shall for ever be known as widow.
⁸³ The word in the text is _Jāmata_, which literally means
_son-in-law_—but here perhaps it must mean husband for she was his
sister.