Friday 25 October 2013

93. A conflict with Viradha.

          Hearing the prattle of Lakshmana, the mighty rakshasha Viradha guffawed making the earth around tremble. Then in his turn that Rakshasha Viradha, with his gruesome voice filling the forest asked "Who are you and where are you going?"
           Repressing his anger Rama told him about his Ikshvaku dynasty. "Know us as Kshatriyas with ennobled bearing, and we are trekking the forest. Now we wish to know about you." 
           Viradha replied "Okay.  I am the son of Java and my mother is Shatahradaa.  All rakshashas on earth call me Viradha. By the boon I got from Brahma, I can neither be cut, nor slit, nor killed with any weapon in this world. Leave off this lady without any yearning for her, and you expeditiously flee away as you have come. Because of the lovely present I got from you I am sparing your lives. Get lost, fast."
           Rama said calmly "I will not go without my dear wife. Release her immediately, else I will kill you." And at the same time, stringing his bow Rama shot some seven very powerful arrows. The arrows dressed with peacock feathers as their fins, flew like infernos and  on piercing the body of Viradha fell on the ground besmirched with blood. The rakshasha then placed Vaidehi down on the ground, hauled up his spear, and very angrily rushed towards daring pair. And holding fast his spear resembling Indra's Flagstaff, he rushed to the brothers. Rama and Lakshmna rained arrows on Viradha.  But that highly horrendous rakshshasha laughed at that shower of arrows, and standing for a while he yawned. And on his yawning and stretching his limbs, those arrows that earlier went speedily into his body, spilled out from his body with the same speed.
               Viradha threw his massive spear towards Rama and Lakshmana. Rama ripped that spear which was akin to the Thunderbolt of Indra, and that which was like a blaze in the sky, apart, with two arrows in the sky itself. Shattered by Rama’s blazing shafts that spear fell on the ground like the boulder mass of Mt. Meru when it was shattered by Indra’s Thunderbolt. Then they quickly upraised their swords and like a pair of up swinging black cobras they rapidly crashed on him, and then started battering him mightily.
            Viradha coolly grabbed the pair in his huge arms and started to go. Rams hissed at his brother "Let him carry us as he wishes."
            The arrogant Viradha lifted Rama and Lakshmana like babies, and placed them on his shoulders as one would place babies. Then he merrily started going deeper into the forest yelling very luridly.
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