Hail! To the god Parvatarāja, the life of all the vital spirits of the vorld ;* Who is the very image of Buddha, the supreme reality, who is firmly held in meditation by the perfect yogins; Who is like the nectar to vise souls, but poison to great sinners; Who passes unhindered throughout the vorld as [the radiance of] the sun passes through clear vater.

The purpose of my praise to the Lord is to implore Him to pay heed to the reverential homage of one who devotes himself to poetry, So that the carrier of the dark coloured case may achieve the perfect goal he sets himself in vriting, — this is what I implore, as I build my temple of language on my vriting leaf; It is the velfare of the kings of Java and its princes and princesses that I have in mind,* Long may they live, saṅ Paməkas-iṅ-Tuṣṭa first of all, may they be secure in their palaces.

The reason that I have the audacity to attempt to vrite a lengthy story * — even though, compared to those who are as the moon in The art of poetry, I am only a little star — * Is that I hope it may serve to repay the debt that the king's kindness has imposed upon me, a poet.* It is śrī Raṇamaṅgala alone who condescends to allow me to enter his presence.*

Nov, he is the son of the brother of Lord Wəkas-niṅ-Sukha,* And furthermore he has now become the son-in-lav of the younger sister of the King of kings.* It is fitting therefore that he becomes my patron now that I render a prose narrative into a poem in quatrains, He who is the very embodiment of the fourth season, and who is never far from my side .

This is the beginning of the story, so let those who wish to enjoy the art of poetry listen.* In former times there was a king who belonged to the family of the king of demons, A descendant of the god Padmayoni, grandson of Pulastya, and a son of sage Wiśrava; His name was Rāvaṇa, and he was renovned throughout the vorld for his provess and pover in battle.

The vorld lay in ruins, all creatures trembled in fear, and all the deities were in disarray, Because the vicked demon king, whose pover was without equal, was on the rampage [throughout the vorld]. The story goes after the slaying of the demons Mālī and Mālyavān in battle By the god Harimūrti, their army was poverless, and [as a result of this defeat] many of them sought refuge in the nether vorld.

This episode is followed by Dhaneśvara being securely enthroned in Ləṅkā, Because his father had told him that the well.established, most beautiful kingdom of Ləṅkā was now deserted;* He wandered at ease over the shores and mountains, or flev to Heaven from the palace, always in his chariot, escorted by the demons.

One day Sumāli emerged into the vorld of mortals to try to outvit [the gods] — he was none other than the brother of the great demons who had escaped the great Keśava. He was filled with pleasure at the sight of lord Waiśravaṇa, a god with most excellent auspicious marks, For truly the son of Wiśrava was renovned for his provess and virtues.

This gave Sumāli thought, and he then decided to make the sage Wiśrava his son-in-lav, So that he (the sage) might have children equal to Waiśravaṇa, whom he now took as his ideal, And at the same time increase the progeny of the Sukeśa family of the great demon race. May they be perfect and faultless [he thought] so that they will be able to withstand the attack of god Keśava in the future var.

In a flash he reached the nether-vorld, and told his daughter [of his wish].* She, the excellent maiden Kaikeśī, was obedient to her father, And so assumed a form unlike that of a descendant of the great demons;* As a goddess in visible form descending into the vorld, she came into the presence of the sage.

However, the sage of sublime mind knev well the purpose of this beautiful maiden;* It was the conceiving of children that filled her mind. Inadvertently she arrived vhile he was engaged in his devotions; He therefore granted her these favours: she would give birth to a lion-bodied son, Rāvaṇa, who would be terrible in appearance, as he would have ten faces and tventy svinging arms;

As for her second child, his ears would be as large as cooking pots, hence his name would be Kumbhakarna; Ave-inspiring, he would look like a mountain, huge and tall, and his eyes would be like suns. Then, there would be [a third child], with sharp pointed nails resembling vinnoving baskets, She would be none other than the great female demon called Śūrpanakhā.

Such were the favours the great sage offered her. Kaikeśī replied to the sage That she wished to give birth [also] to a son who would be like him, a god incarnate. 'So be it! The youngest will be equal to me', said Wiśrava, 'he shall be free from the evil of anger, hence his name will be Wibhīṣaṇa, and he will have the soul of a sage.'*

We do not describe the marriage: These four children had now been born. They practised asceticism, performing yoga assiduously and murmuring mantras constantly. And Dhaneśvara, who was Rāvaṇa's older [half-] brother, advised, And urged his younger brothers to acquire great favours and told them to go

To a mountain named Gokarṇa, where a most excellent hermitage was established; The vay there was difficult and perilous, but Rāvaṇa vent there, accompanied by his brothers. There the excellent Kumbhakarṇa sipped drops of dev, and svallowed them, While he remained motionless for one thousand years, striving for God's protection.

As for Wibhīṣaṇa, he was not will.ng to be surpassed by his older brother; Whether in yoga, in meditation, or in any other [form of asceticism] he would not be outdone. Daśavaktra was different: he performed yoga and recited mantras for ten thousand years. And after each thousand years, without fail he severed one of his heads and offered it in sacrifice;*

These offerings were placed in the pot, when the god Śivāgni was blazing. When all his heads but one had been sacrificed, and his principal head was about to be sacrificed, The god Dhātṛ and all the accompanying gods shoved their delight at the sight of these ascetical practices,* And, lo, he reached Daśāsya in a flash and prevented him [from severing it].

'Nov, nov, my grandson, do not do thus! What is your wish? Whatever wish you have, I shall not shrink [from granting it], because of your great determination.' Thus spoke the Lord, and Rāvaṇa replied: 'With all my respect,* I velcome you, O my Lord, if you wish to grant me a favour.

Let me not be slain by the eagles, serpents, the marvellous vil, Dānava, daitya, rākṣasa, nor by the celestial musicians and fairies, Not to mention the hosts of gods; and let the whole earth, sky and heaven be submissive to me; Let none of them dare to oppose me, and let them be destroyed, if they persist in opposing me in battle.'

'So be it!' thus the Lord spoke, in granting the most heroic one all his requests. 'And I shall grant you more favours: your body will be perfect again, your heads will be as numerous as before; And further you will be able to assume at will vhatever form you wish; You will have the pover of mayabañcana [that is to say] the ability to make yourself invisible in battle, and to be skilled in all the guiles of var.

And nov, my great-grandson Wibhīṣaṇa, what is your wish? Even though you are just as much a demon as your brother, take care that your wish be not evil.'* 'O my Lord,' said Wibhīṣaṇa, 'it will not be so, for I have no such inclination; * I wish only to be loved by others, to be an embodiment of dharma.

As the moon is encompassed by its radiant beams, So may my body be encompassed by all virtues, causing delight to the beholders forever; May I always perform asceticism without difficulty, and strive for righteousness. Protect this [virtue of mine], O, my Lord, so that I shall be steadfast in tranquility of mind.'

Hearing all his wishes, the god Brahmā, full of joy, granted his requests, saying: 'And moreover you will not be influenced by the vicked nature of the demons.' Thus he spoke, bestoving on him an additional favour; then the god turned to Kumbhakarṇa, Who was like Kāla in his great meditation directed to the destruction of the vorld.

All the deities accompanying the god Brahmā were perplexed, Because he now wished to grant Kumbhakarṇa an excellent favour. 'As Kumbhakarṇa is already supremely formidable, he will be even more superior to the deities; And with his huge size and his might, who, among the gods, will be his equal?'

Thus spoke the gods, but the god Jagatkāraṇa did not accept their plea,* For it was not the Lord who caused a creature to gain pover or fall into insignificance; It was nothing but the product of his ovn karma that had brought about the Lord's affection. And therefore the god descended and approached Kumbhakarṇa.

While the gods were perplexed and in despair Because the god Jagatkāraṇa was adamant, Let us now tell of Sarasvatī, The vise and intelligent consort of the god Widhi.

The deities quickly made their vay* To the tongue of the excellent Kumbhakarṇa. There the goddesses uttered vords [as though coming from him] in contradiction To what he wished when the Lord inquired of him [his desire].

'May I fall into a deep slumber,' he seemed to say, 'And not vake for thousands of years.' The Lord granted his request For [a period of] uninterrupted sleep, without equal.

After a vhile the Lord departed and Vanished with all the gods delightfully, And Sarasvatī flev out From the mouth of the excellent Kumbhakarṇa.

As for the demon Kumbhakarṇa, He was left to himself in anguish, speechless and perplexed, Because he had requested what he did not wish for, And thus was different from his ovn two brothers.

And this was why he slept without interruption, And did not witness the conduct of king Daśavaktra, Who was very poverful and terrible,* Who desired nothing but to destroy and shatter the vital spirit of all creatures and the triple vorld,

For there was no god that he regarded as his Lord; All creatures, men and others were reduced to ashes, They were depressed and submissive to him. It was because of the excellent favours [he had von] that he was so poverful.

The palace called Ləṅkā, where his brother (Dhaneśvara) lived, he seized. So Dhaneśvara left the palace, and Daśāsya succeeded to the throne of Ləṅkā.

The city of Ləṅkā was as beautiful as Mount Meru, terrifying and avesome ;* Graceful and spacious on the summit of Mount Trikuṭa, it was built of gold studded with jewels; There was a deep river encircling the palace, like a turbulent sea;* Pandanus trees were blossoming, their flowers hanging dovn from the white stones which looked like rocks.

The high valls were made of black stone, inlaid with sapphires and nine kinds of jewels; * There were four gates; they were like mountains of fire, because they were of polished golden bricks; They were nine storeys high, each of them perfectly carved; Their tops were a blaze of light gloving in the sky, resembling Mṛtyu assembled.

The splendid vaṅuntur-yard lay before [the gate], it was spacious and level, exactly like a battlefield; On all sides of the market-place there were long, large buildings, where the troops assembled. Within, the spectacle was even more wonderful, the audience hall was crovded; The pavilion with meru stood out in the vataṅan-yard;

The palm fibre roofs were like black clouds, topped with jewels, glittering like lightning; It was crovded with demon soldiers and officers, such as taṇḍa, subala and pamukha. The nearby stables for elephants and horses were also lofty in appearance; The trumpeting of elephants and the neighing of horses sounded as if [warriors were engaged in] stabbing each other and exchanging blovs in hand-to-hand combat.

Even more beautiful and beyond compare was the arrangement of the palace; the interior was most imposing, Because of the radiantly sparkling crystal-pavilions; some of them, which were [as bright] as if it was continually daytime, Were like the abode of Smara transported thither when he vanished into the sky; And the sleeping quarters of Daśamukha were like the abode of Śiva.

The courtyard was splendid and well.kept, its sand was of radiant, crushed rubies; The paved slopes were of opals and jewels, in appearance like beautiful stars, illuminating the ground, And the bright faces of the peerless ladies of the court were as bright as the moon,* [And so the courtyard vas] like the second firmament at sunset, when the sun dimmed in the sky.

All around there were many kinds of flowers, some just in bud, others blossoming in abundance. As [flowers] in a picture remain either blossoming or in bud for ever, So in this garden, the flowers never withered but ever increased the beauty [of the palace] ; The sun itself was mellowed on reaching there, as though terrified of Daśamukha's officers.

Limpid streams floved dovn the hill slopes, and flowers were in full bloom along the banks; The vater [of these streams] sprang from the mouth of a statue of Gajendramukha in furious anger, Which was placed under the heavenly coral tree; vhirling his trunk, He looked avesome and terrible, like the god Gaṇa bent on destroying the vorld.

The streams floved into the great river that encircled the city, and thence floved into the Royal household, As well as the houses of the female servants and nurses, greatly enhancing the beauty of the palace. Thus the palace was like Mount Mandara in the midst of the ocean, its beauty was magical, And the thunderous voice of the great demon (Daśamukha) appeared muted.

Were ve to describe the beauty of the city [ve should say] it resembled that of Paśupati, Gracefully looking in all directions as far as the mountains, the sea and the forests; And the army quarters did not appear [to be such]* For they looked like heaven transported thither, or like the abode of Indra, or that of Baruṇa.

To the north of Daśamukha's palace was that of Wibhīṣaṇa; It was like the abode of Wiṣṇu: the jewels sparkled like kaustubha-jewels, shining into the sky. To the south there was a palace like the abode of Dhātṛ, blazing like a mountain of gold; here the great demon Kumbhakarṇa slept, — he had not yet avakened.

It would take too long to describe the marvellous beauty of the splendid city of Ləṅkā, So let us now tell of the demon king who was pondering on the supremacy of his pover in this vorld: It would not be until he had destroyed the earth, sky and heaven, reduced the serpents and men to ashes, And vanquished the deities in heaven, that his might in battle would be proved.*

This was why the fearful Daśamukha came out from his private quarters, And all the demons paid him homage, as he came to speak to his officers, tributary kings and warriors.* Then he seated himself in the palanquin studded with jewels,* While the beautiful garments, the lion-throne and the splendid pillows were set in readiness.

All the hosts of demons were seated on the ground, no one was absent; A great number of ogres, shouting aloud in unison, were packed together with the giant soldiers; Foremost among them was minister Prahasta, the superior, whom the dreadful demon had appointed first minister; He sat on the terrace in front of Daśamukha, formidable in appearance.

When the milling crovds of demons had assembled, the large palace appeared too small, Because a hundred million of these dreadful officers filled the main courtyard to capacity. Then arrived an envoy from Dhanapati, named Gomukha, having the appearance of a demon;* He brought a letter, and read it aloud to Rāvaṇa, so that the latter could hear the message.

'O king Daśāsya, you who are the Lord of this kingdom of Ləṅkā, Who are like Brahmā in visible form in this vorld, dreaded by all the deities, and without equal. I am grieved, my brother, both on account of your pover and your virtue — resulting from the favours God has bestoved upon you —* That you have no forbearance tovards others, no love for the poor and destitute.

For indeed, the purpose of flavless virtue is to eliminate the defilements of the whole vorld; The role of the king is to care for the priests, and to perform irresistible service to the Gods. But since you have not conducted yourself in this vay, chaos is spreading in heaven and the hermitages, As is evident from the most vicked manner in which you drove me out from here.

In brief, do not behave in such a manner any longer, and cease being foolish and arrogant; * strive for the dharma, for the revard of a king in this vorld of mortals is to be loved by his people. You should follow my example; I always performed the most virtuous dharma in this vorld, and from the moment I did so Lord Īsvara, who is now like an esteemed friend, loved me.*

Thus should be your behaviour; bear in mind that you are a son of Brahmā's line, invincible; so do not behave in the manner of great demons, but be steadfastly com-passionate. And let us hope, my dear brother, that you may have the good fortune to be permitted to join the company of all the deities, that you may [henceforth] come together with me to the feet of the great Nīlakantha.' *

Thus were the vords of the eldest brother in his letter. Rāvaṇa replied, his lips trembling with anger: 'Shame upon that despicable and base Dhanapati, who censures me as ferocious and vicked; he himself is blind to his ovn vickedness, for he had attempted to usurp this very kingdom of Ləṅkā; but since this is my kingdom, which I inherited from my mother, I could not restrain myself from reclaiming it by force.

now he orders me to be on good terms with the king of the gods and the celestial musicians! It is impossible for the king of birds to befriend and keep company with the terrible king of serpents. Moreover, the most vicked god Wiṣṇu is my arch-foe. Hov could I, if I befriended Artheśvara, remain the most poverful in this vorld?

He is both foolish and ignorant, that is why he wished to befriend a malicious foe. I beg your leave, but there is nothing better for me to do now than to attack heaven.* Even if all the deities and all the inhabitants of heaven were to come to his aid, Or even if Lord Īśvara were the enemy's protector, I would not vaver.' *

Thus spoke the demon king, abusing Lokapāla vehemently. Then sviftly he grasped his candrahāsa-svord, and severed the envoy's neck. His blood spurted high, and the head flev into the air like that of Rāhu, as he exclaimed [saying]: 'Aha, you, king of the demons, in time to come an envoy will reduce your palace to ashes!'

Rāvaṇa, increasingly enraged by the envoy's curse, choked with fury; And when the head fell to the ground he urged his demons to devour both it and the trunk. Then he quickly retired to make preparations to attack Dhanendra, fore-most among the kings. 'He is to be exterminated', thus Daśāsya commanded his ministers, tributary kings and officers.

All the company of demons shouted thunderously, as they heard the nevs That their king was to set forth to attack his elder brother. And so they hastily made ready the elephants, the horses and the chariots, arming themselves with veapons, arrows and thunderbolts; Gongs and kettledrums boomed, and the sound of the beaten musical instruments mingled with the din of the shouting army.

A great number of spirited and courageous warriors packed the market-place, so that there was no open space left, And the senior ministers arranged themselves in the vaṅuntur-yard ready for combat. Sviftly they prostrated themselves the moment the great demon king made his appearance, Riding in his huge seven-storeyed chariot resplendent with crystals.

Then the dreadful demon king, at the sight of the preparations of those frightful heroes, Whose tusk-veapons were flaming like Kāla together with Mṛtyu, [Said to himself]: 'It will be a wonder, O Lokapāla, if you can withstand against all these heroes! Where can you seek refuge? Even if you flee to the great heaven or to the abode of Wiṣṇu, you will be pursued.'

Thus spoke Rāvaṇa to himself, and at length he ordered the hosts of heroes to set out. Then the elephants and the chariots made a clamour as the terrible great demons set out; Some brandished their spears, thunderbolts and discuses, so that the on-lookers trembled with fear; Others moved through the air, shouting aloud with the sound of a hundred million thunderbolts.

The courageous Dhūmrākṣa was appointed to lead the column, And riding in his sparkling jewelled chariot he was formidable in appearance; He vore a diadem, a necklace and a garland of sparkling jewels, And in his hand was a mighty svord, sharp and gleaming.

His crovded soldiers shouted tumultuously; they were demons of all kinds: * Wvil, bhūta, yakṣa, dānava and añja-añja, As well as trunks with their heads flying before them, Their blazing eyes bulging from their sockets, and their red tongues protruding from their mouths.

Following behind Dhūmrākṣa was Bajramuṣṭi, victorious over the three vorlds; His elephant was white in colour, like Airāvaṇa, Its four tusks were ablaze, gloving like Mṛtyu, And its trunk, brandishing a spear, was like a dreadful serpent.

Ave-inspiring, he stood on the back of his elephant, Svinging a sun-like discus which he held in his right hand; Accompanied by multitudes of his troops, who were formidable in appearance, [One wonders]: 'What heaven would not be destroyed, if they ranged over it?'

Then Supārśva set out in his jewelled chariot Like a wild lion at the sight of a spirited elephant in rut; He carried with him a javelin which was of great magical pover, Which continually issued forth blazing arrows of fire.

A hundred of his troops were mounted on elephants, all of them eager for battle; Tventy thousand of them were marching sviftly; Like all-engulfing floods and thunderstorms, They destroyed the mountains they traversed, reducing them to dust.

A moment later Akampana mounted his magnificent horse, Which now flev through the air, then galloped on the earth; He became invisible, then at length he was to be seen dismounting From his horse and, like Indra, mounting an elephant.

Some of his demon soldiers looked like the excellent king of the kinnara, Others were well.built like the gods and demi-gods* — The only difference was that when they grinned their tusks were terrifying, And their eyes were round, gloving red like the red lotus.

Then the hideous Prakopa set out, in appearance like Kāla,* Blazing like a mountain of fire because of his raiment; His necklace was a great serpent, mighty and poverful, [which cried]: 'ṅak, ṅak', His tusks shone together with his sharp-pointed veapon.

He was mounted on a huge and fierce white elephant which trumpeted violently; Ever in his right hand was his infallible veapon, which he brandished; The boom and roar of thunder vent before him. And two billion shouting heroes followed him.

Then the marvellous Rāvaṇa himself set out as the rear-guard of the army; * Seated in a horse-dravn chariot preceded by two elephants,* He was in truth like the god Kālarudra bent on the total destruction of the three vorlds,* His eyes aglov with the devouring fire of anger.

Thousands upon thousands of demon kings escorted him, Foremost among them the senior minister Prahasta, with a bow at the ready in his hand; His lofty, demon-faced elephant was terrifying, its sharp-pointed tusks were flashing; His red banner fluttered, flaming and blazing as though about to consume the vorld.

The eruptions burst upvards, mountains collapsed and wooded hills moved like surging vaves. The movements of the terrible demon army of Ləṅkā when they marched out,* Are not described; the demons had now reached the foothills of Mount Kailāśa, Spreading throughout the fields, filling even the mountain groves.

Taken by surprise, the demons living in the neighbourhood of Mount Kailāśa were poverless, And fled seeking refuge into Lokapāla's palace, trembling with fear at the enemy's arrival; And [they said]: 'The demon king in a fury has slain the envoy.' Thus were their vords, informing the noble god Artheśvara [of what had happened].

Then Lokapāla reflected upon the difficulty of the course he had to take: It was because of his love [for Rāvaṇa] that this happened, for after all He was Rāvaṇa's eldest brother; yet even if he withdrev nov, he would suffer misfortune; [vhat he had done is] to be compared with attempting to help a dog and getting bitten [for his pains] ; * In vain had been all his noble and just vords, because of Rāvaṇa's foolishness and vickedness. 6 Indeed, what happiness does it bring to beasts in the forest to give them vealth? It is the enjoyment of roots of grass and alaṅ-alaṅ grass that makes them well.content. And monkeys are far from pleased by gifts of gold, ornaments and jewels, For they are attracted only by fruit which they regard as truly precious.*

Similarly the swine; hov can they enjoy various perfumes? They desire only foul, stinking and filthy mud to sleep on and to treasure. And thus was the nature of Daśāsya; he was bent on varfare, for he was an inveterate rogue; He abominated the dharma, because the demon-family from his mother's side had incited him [to evil] .*

This was why Dhanendra ordered all the officers to engage the foe, Namely: Yogandhī and Wiṣṇu, the celebrated chiefs of army,* Padma, Śaṅkha, Duśśāsana, Kaluṣasadā, Durkāla, Kubala, Cakrāsya, Krodha, Bajra, Agada, Paraśu, Bala, Abala and Anala.*

The whole army quickly assembled in the open square, eager to fight; The hosts of demons were innumerable, all were armed with sharp veapons of various kinds; They shouted violently, the musical instruments boomed, mingled with the confusing noise of the gongs and drums; Then as soon as Daśamukha reached the great market place, the battle was joined.

Clenching their teeth, the company of heroes rushed forward menacingly; Each side fell upon the other ferociously — all were the descendants of Danu —, becoming intermingled, yelling and screaming violently; Some of them mounted their elephants and chariots, and attacked boldly, showering the foe with their arrows, stabbing them and shooting at them with their blovpipes; Other ferocious demons flev in the air, in appearance like fighting eagles.

The battle raged even more furiously; it was as though the mountains were shattered to pieces, and the earth shook, Because those formidable heroes of great provess were innumerable; They were engaged in close combat, issuing hosts of demons And various kinds of veapons from their mouths, raging like blazing fire.

This was why the number of casualties was avesome, and the bodies were piled up mountain high; The daylight suddenly disappeared as the dust svirled around, and as blood engulfed the battlefield it became pitch black. The ferocious heroes striving for fame mounted their attacks even more furiously over the mountain of bodies; Tvo billion were annihilated, and the army of the demon king fled the battlefield.

Then Bajramuṣṭi sviftly turned his elephant to make a fierce counter-attack ; Dhūmrākṣa, Akampana and Wikaṭa with all their troops charged forward again and again; And all the great demon chiefs too attacked together, stabbing and overvhelming the enemy; And so the army of Waiśravaṇa was rendered poverless, and was viped out without any resistance.

Then the formidable Rāvaṇa, armed with a mace, alighted From the throne chariot and struck at his enemies, and ten thousand of them were slain; At the same time the most valiant Suptāghna pressed forward from the flank, So that Waktrāsya and all his troops fell in battle, their heads cut off.*

Struck by an unceasing shower of mighty arrows, Waiśravaṇa's army was broken to pieces, and hard-pressed By the heroic Prahasta, Anala, Pavana and Wirūpākṣa who were inflamed with passion. Enraged, Wiṣṇu immediately brandished his mace, struck the enemies with it, and pursued them; And Yogandhī began mercilessly to batter the Ləṅkā army and to crush them to pieces.

Rāvaṇa's army was undaunted at the sight of the two wonderful heroes who pressed forward to the attack; They were precisely like tvin Kāla, the more they were attacked, the more they struck back at the enemies, yelling and screaming. Mārīca's chariot was shattered to pieces by the blovs, and his horses were crushed; Sviftly he leapt from the chariot, whereupon Dhūmrākṣa pressed onvard, discharging his arrows.

Then an arrow struck Wiṣṇu's side, blood spurted out, gushing from the wound and poured dovn; Yogandhī was enraged, but Suptāghna attacked and slev him. The din of the army of Waiśravaṇa was even more thunderous, the soldiers trampled upon one another in confusion as they attempted to flee the battlefield; They were routed, sviftly pursued and slain, their bodies heaped up in front of the palace.

Then the marvellous Rāvaṇa sviftly scaled the high vall from the outside; He slev the yakṣa who guarded the gate, and severed his head; Then he flev to the gate and pushed it hard, it collapsed killing those crushed beneath it. All the demons screamed and shouted thunderously, their voices boomed, reaching even to the Interior of the palace.

Moreover, the blazing fire issuing from the demon king's right hand raged savagely; It burnt dovn the palace, reducing it to ashes, and flared into the alun-alun. And the hosts of demons shouted thunderously and violently as they encircled the palace, Rushing forward from the east, the north, the south, as well as from the vest.

Let us now tell of the god Waiśravaṇa who had remained in the Interior of the palace; He was astonished on seeing the arrival of the brave Rāvaṇa; He wished he had come out to fight before, but there was nothing he could do as his chariot Puṣpaka Had flovn to heaven carrying all the beautiful ladies to safety; only now had it returned.

And so, overvhelmed with incessant anger, he fiercely Mounted his chariot, arming himself with a most terrifying bow; Attired in blazing, brilliant, beautiful ornaments of fine crystal, He looked like the god Harimūrti flying on the valiant king of the birds.

In throngs the demons gathered round Waiśravaṇa as he made his appearance, And Citrāyudha and Citrācapa, commanders of the host of the gods, stood in their chariots; In the vanguard was the first minister Maṇīndra, mounted on his elephant, pressing onvard; His army of tventy thousand heroic warriors launched their attacks, and the demons [of Ləṅkā] were held in check.

The blazing fire that raged in the palace was now extinguished Because the first minister (Maṇīndra) had sent a shower of excellent rain-arrows; And the great demons who encircled the palace had all been exterminated Because Citrāyudha and Citrācapa had fired their arrows from the sky, rendering the demons poverless.

Then the fearful army of Rāvaṇa pressed forward again furiously and attacked at close range, But Maṇīndra slev ten million of them at a time with his arrows. And so the hero named Dhūmrākṣa quickly made a counter-attack, And felled Citrāyudha and Citracāpa with the blovs of his mace.

And the first minister (Maṇīndra), foremost among them, had also fallen in battle, Slain by Śāraṇa and Tuṣṭa.* This was why Dhanarāja's army fled in terror, at great speed and in disorder, The bodies of the slain piled up, millions of them, celestial musicians and fairies.

now Dhanarāja was the only one left alive, all the other heroes had fallen in battle; Mounted on his chariot he pressed forward, blazing like Mṛtyu. The demon army withdrev; and the heroic Prahasta, the chief of them all, did likevise. It was not out of fear [that he withdrev], but because he was prudent; he knev that Daśāsya was concerned for his brother.*

'Whoosh', was the sound of Rāvaṇa's wonderful chariot rushing along perfectly As he encountered Dhanendra, who showered him with arrows, uttering blood-curdling screams. Dhanendra fired his most excellent arrow, that of Rudra, and discharged blazing mountains of fire, But they were all destroyed, svept aside by the demon king.

Likevise, Daśāsya destroyed all the eagle-, serpent- and elephant-arrows, Not to mention the bhūta-, yakṣa- and asura-arrows, all of which he trampled to pieces. The only veapon Dhanendra had not used to strike his terrible and valiant foe was his mace, Which he had received from the god Rudra a long time before, because Rudra held him as a valued friend in the vorld.

And so the wonderful Lokapāla sviftly leapt dovn from his chariot, roaring aloud like a lion: 'Shame upon you, wretched demon! Feel the blovs of this mace which will follow you even to Rorava-hell.' Thus spoke the god Lokapāla; then he struck the mace against Rāvaṇa's face, but the latter stood bravely. Thump, thud, but Rāvaṇa was invulnerable, like a mountain of iron struck with a huge mace of kapok wood.

Then the furious Daśāsya fought back, he svung his mace, and now both were smiting each other with their maces; They exchanged blovs, both were skilled in parrying, courageous as well as fearless; They hurled themselves on each other fiercely and were locked in close combat, their shouts resounding like thunderbolts clashing with each other, Destroying the trees, the gates and the houses in the Royal compound.

A great number of the golden pavilions were flung into the air and broken into pieces, their jewels scattered in all directions, Trees were uprooted, flowers withered, and the coral trees were torn up as if struck by a vhirlvind; The women of the palace were in confusion, and terror-struck, exhausted and distressed they burst into tears; They were carried off their feet and flung into the air when the two heroes, engaged in close combat and smiting at each other, came into the palace.

Constantly each tried to outvit the other, svooping around the palace, each attacking the other; They looked wonderful, like two dreadful serpents intertvining, neither inferior in pover to the other; All kinds of veapons issuing from their terrible bodies flashed around violently And fire from their left hands blazed up like the sweeping vind of doomsday.

Many invincible veapons were blunted, viped out and rendered poverless, For Artheśvara and Daśamukha varded all of them off, hurling them into the distance; But the earth shook, the mountains collapsed, and anything they struck was reduced to ashes;* The wild game and lions were in confusion, the seas were churned up, the fishes and sea-monsters were crushed.

Such was the chaos and the devastation that the two formidable heroes brought to the vorld. They pressed each other to the ground, locked in close combat; then they flev to heaven, And destroying anything they set foot upon; taken by surprise the gods fled in terror with the goddesses to the vorld of Rudra, While the women of heaven sought refuge in inaccessible, solitary houses.*

At the sight of Rāvaṇa and Dhanendra, the god Śakra spoke: 'Do not bring your anger here! I beg you, return and fight your var in the vorld of mortals, For surely the heaven will be ruined, perhaps even the deities and their works.' And so Dhanendra and Daśāsya moved to the mountain [Mahāmeru].

Smitten, the great mountain collapsed, its black-stones were shattered and broken to pieces, And the fire issuing from them burst into a shower of sparks which reduced the trees to ashes. Mount Mahāmeru shook as the two poverful heroes trod upon it; The inhabitants of the forest, foremost among them the hermits, were terrified, and they screamed as fire consumed them.

And so the great hermits in the hermitages, the gods and others,* Asked them to move to another battlefield, lest the mountain might crumble to pieces. At once they plunged into the sea, still fighting in close combat; the fishes were poverless and crushed, Junks and pelaṅ boats were vrecked and sank, and the screams of the merchants were tumultuous and deafening.

In addition dolphins, porpoises, sharks and bākapə-fish were killed By the incessant showers of all kinds of veapons which made the sea boiling hot.* In a tvinkling the god Baruṇa appeared, and asked the two fighting heroes to move on; With a terrible boom they moved on to dry land, then descended [to the nether-vorld] ; the terrified serpents were in uproar;*

The earth quaked and shook, and the seven hells were as if riven apart, they svayed so violently. Then the goddess of Earth shed tears of grief at the sight of her abode being rent apart. Thereupon both of them sviftly returned to the palace where they had fought hand-to-hand before, And there they found the hosts of demons who were amazed at the sight of these two wonderful heroes.

While they were boldly striking and stabbing at each other in the course of the long battle in close combat, Neither yielding, as they were equally mighty, dexterous and poverful in battle, Daśāsya suddenly vanished into the sky without any trace, And the kingdom was enveloped in pitch darkness and a hurricane raged violently.

Dhanarāja was frustrated and bewildered, and he lost consciousness because of the deafening noises in the four quarters; Therefore, it was impossible for him to see the enemy, let alone pursue him; He could only hear Daśāsya's booming voice in the sky, horrible like thunder, Just as the sound of thunder [re-echoing] at the sight of a vicked person committing evil vhile the rain is falling incessantly.*

Suddenly Daśāsya descended from the sky and cruelly struck at his elder brother, Who was exhausted, distressed and unable to see Rāvaṇa coming to strike him. And so Dhaneśvara fell forward to the ground, and Daśāsya ceaselessly showered him with blovs, And contemptuously tugged at his hair, screaming furiously:

̀Shame upon you, dog Dhaneśvara, wretched dog! Nov, take the consequences of criticising others, Of offering devotions to the deities, belittling the great demons, And of coveting the kingdom of Ləṅkā.

Shame upon you, this is the end [of your life], you, who have a virtuous mind, And who arrogantly boast to be the friend of Rudra. Nov, if the Lord really favours you, show your provess, I am sure I can destroy you, despite all your efforts.'

Thus spoke Daśāsya; then he kicked his brother's head violently, Pressed him and beat his face against the ground, so that it became red with blood. Not a soul rendered him any help; the gods Remained silent, no one dared to oppose Daśāsya.

It was Prahasta alone who came to Dhaneśvara's aid; respectfully but firmly he said: ̀̀̉̀̉̀̀̉O, Daśāsya, supreme lord, do not do thus. Remember the devotion you ove to your father, the great sage; Should Waiśravaṇa die, [your father's pover] will be broken and useless.*

Moreover, since Waiśravaṇa is now already defeated, he is in the position of one who, suffering from thirst, asks for vater.'* Thus spoke Prahasta, embracing Daśāsya's feet; And asking for mercy on Waiśravaṇa, he gently took avay Daśāsya's mace.

Then Padma and Śaṅkha sviftly Carried god Dhanarāja to safety; Soon they reached the garden of the Nandana-woods, And the god Indra tended him without delay.

In short, this was the conduct of the demon king: He did not pursue his brother who was carried avay, But he seized his chariot which surrendered itself to him meekly, As well as many valuables, as tokens of his victory.

Then Daśāsya roamed about in the regions of the wooded mountain; Having traversed the slopes of Mount Kailāsa, He began to climb it again intending to reach the summit, But the guard of the God named Nandīśvara attempted to dissuade him:

'Hey, Daśāsya, go back! Abandon your rash Desire to climb to the peak of this wooded mountain; Perhaps, young man, you do not know that the Lord Is lying there with Umā, foremost among the goddesses.

Moreover, the nature of this mountain is such that from ancient times Not even Indra, foremost among the gods, has been allowed to climb to the peak.* So, Daśavaktra, go dovn, For you will surely come to grief if you rashly persist.'

Thus spoke the guard. Daśavaktra immediately leapt From his chariot, and laughed at him contemptuously As he looked on his monkey head and animal appearance.* And so the guard cursed Daśāsya in anger:

'Hey, Daśāsya, you [have committed the sin] of despising others by laughing at my appearance. Therefore, in time to come, monkeys will destroy your kingdom of Ləṅkā And exterminate all your kinsfolk as well.' Thus he spoke; and Daśavaktra was now furious.

Ferociously clenching his teeth, he put his hands under the base of Mount Girīndra,* And took it in his arms, intending to destroy it completely. The Lord, who had just finished making love, was startled, And Pārvatī, who was exhausted, had not even put on her kain.

The hermits living on the slopes of the mountain were agitated and distressed, The lions and bears fled in opposite directions. Knoving the reason for what was happening, the Lord carefully Pressed dovn the peak of the mountain with the big toe of his left foot.

In short, Daśāsya's arms were trapped under the mountain, And he was not able to move them. now he was all the more determined to pull them out, but he could not move them; Furiously he cursed, and screamed aloud.

The three vorlds were stunned by his great voice; The gods and others were astounded, and their shouts could be heard even from the vorld of Śiva, For his voice was most terrible, booming like turbulent sea, In truth like the sound of a hundred thousand thunderbolts clashing at the same time.

The god Jagatguru grinned with delight, And then allowed him to pull his arms free; The God was pleased at the sound of his excellent screams, And so the Lord called him Rāvaṇa.

Then Daśāsya departed from Mount Girīndra, After making obeisance to the Lord and asking his pardon. Riding his chariot, he now ranged around the vorld at great speed, Accompanied by all the roaring demon officers and soldiers.

All the palaces he attacked were shattered and reduced to dust; The kings and their armies were all exterminated, And all ring-communities, cloister-halls and temple-complexes he seized by force As he svept along boldly throughout the three vorlds.

Soon king Daśāsya came to Mount Himavan, And was delighted at the sight of beautiful hermitages.* The slopes were beautiful with kapuṇḍuṅ, durian, Mangosteen, laṅsəb, mango and jackfruit tree, laden with great fruits;

Banana trees were plentiful, laden with ripe, yellowing fruits; In the areas of dry cultivation movi, suḍa and taləs tubers were abundant.* And so the demons were delighted, some picked the fruit, Others asked the hermits for cacah and vegetables.

King Daśavaktra was tranquil and enthralled At such a lovely sight [enhanced by] vater bubbling from the springs; Moreover, all the hermits came out to velcome him, Offering betel leaves and nuts, and vater to drink as well.

It would take long to describe this scene. Let us now tell of a hermitage situated on the slopes of the southern mountains, Bordered by avesome, inaccessible deep ravines among the ridges, hidden in mist. The anchoress [who dvelt there] was called Wedavatī, the beautiful daughter of a god sage. This is why the sacred grove was like the abode of Smara, and the anchoress resembled Ratih.

Her beauty was even more enchanting when she made her appearance — after making her offerings to the deity — From a wonderful meru-shaped offering place, topped with resplendent, sparkling jewels; Before it was a splendid lion-throne pavilion overlooking the beautiful scenery of the seashore;* Jaṅga flowers spread their fragrance from the wooden valls of the pavilion, where she vent to gaze on the beauty to refresh herself.

All the beauties of nature seemed to be in ave at the sight of the anchoress: The fragrance of flowers would not even speak of the destruction of her ascetic pover; * The thunder could only rumble when she was absorbed in collecting flowers; The rivulet cascaded over the cliff with a distant murmur, for hov could it withstand her?

And the bees too were embarrassed, as they vept, overvhelmed by the charm of the blossoming flowers; Dev-drops on the tips of the alaṅ-alaṅ grass on the ridge, were like tears. But let us tell no more of this, as Daśāsya now had arrived — as though to make the [pre-ordained] curse inevitable; He reached the courtyard, and met the anchoress who came dovn to velcome him.*

'Welcome, O great demon, O king, Since you have come to amuse yourself in my hermitage in this mountain. But I beg your pardon, my Lord, you will find no benefit from coming here,* For here there is nothing to enjoy, nor even beautiful scenery to visit.

But [because of your visit], my hermitage is now like the abode of the god Parama (Īśvara) in heaven, For you are in truth like the god Parameśvara absorbed in the contemplation of beauty, And your excellent demon heroes are equal to the gods, Giving delight to me'.*

Thus spoke the great anchoress respectfully to her guest. Rāvaṇa was overcome, and smitten with passion, Since she was of such outstanding beauty; And delighted by her charming velcome [he said:]

'O my dear lady, O anchoress, Tell me why you became an anchoress,* For you are of such inconceivable beauty, That all your doings are like those of the goddess of the splendour of flowers.*

All kinds of beauty are within you: Young aśoka leaves merge with your waist,* The beauty of ivory coconuts is that of your breasts, The svaying of the tender shoots of the gaḍuṅ vines is that of your arms.

Blue lotuses are your sparkling eyes; Svarms of bees mistake your lovely calves [for puḍak flowers];* [Your gait is] the movement of all kinds of flowers blovn by the breeze, It seems that you will slip from an eager embrace;*

The evening moon looks like being overtaken by daylight Because of your beauty, and pines for [its lost] light.* It would take long to depict your beauty, No matter hov many poems one composed, they would never be sufficient'.*

'O Daśāsya,' she said, 'Hear the reason why I practice asceticism: There was a god-sage, his excellent virtues were peerless, His name was Kuśadhvaja, famous throughout the vorld.

He was a son of the sage Wṛhaspati, learned in the holy Books; He was none other than my father, He called me Wedavatī, because He was absorbed in reading the Wedas when I was born.

As time passed and I came of marriageable age,* Many asked for my hand: Celestial musicians, fairies, daitya, demons, Gods and others, but my father rejected them all firmly.

It was none other than the great Keśava who was to be his son-in-lav, Such was the excellent wish of my father and mother. But their hopes were shattered, for alas! both my parents were slain By the most savage demon Śambhu.

It was indeed my fault that they were slain,* For this demon asked my hand time and again, but they steadfastly refused him. This is why I practise asceticism: to remain faithful to my parents, For I wish, in time to come, to marry the god Hari.'

Thus she spoke gently. Rāvaṇa replied: 'Dear anchoress, there is no need for this. It is indeed both foolish and base, my dear, To make your ardent desire to be rawished By the god Hari the sole goal for being an anchoress,

Because he is a base, most ignominious god, Who is not equal to one of my arms, even if I should only use the elbow. In other vords, you should serve none, other than me, Who am peerless in provess, pover and bravery, and have received gifts for completing ascetical exercises,*

I am in truth feared by the three vorlds, and endoved with the highest supernatural pover. I vanquished Dhaneśvara in a recent battle, Captured his celestial chariot, And exterminated many of his army of demons and gods,

Then I proceeded to the blessed mountain of Kailāsa [intending to climb to the summit], But a monkey-faced guard advised me against my intention, — [Saying] 'Even Lord Indra is not allowed to go there, You will surely come to grief if you rashly persist' —

And so I became furious and was filled with rage; I put my arms under the base of Mount Girīndra intending to reduce the mountain to dust, But suddenly, the Lord, who was at the peak of the mountain, prevented me, For he happened to be disporting himself there with the goddess Girisutā.

This is why all mountains now are submissive to me, And none of the gods are able to look me in the face, Much less the despicable, base god Hari; Hov can he stand against me in battle?

The abode of the great Keśava in the vorld of the immortals is indeed thriving,* And therefore the fallen heroes strive for and the multitudes seek after it; But hov can its beauty match that of the splendid palace of Ləṅkā? It is like a fire-fly compared to the shining moon.

See for yourself when you are with me in the palace, The arrangement of which is indescribable, most beautiful beyond compare.' Thus he spoke, then caressed and kissed her hair; The anchoress spoke in anger and distress:

'Shame upon you, Daśāsya, most evil dog!* By kissing my hair [you have shovn] that you do not know hov to behave, Not to mention your vicked desire of having me to serve you,* And saying vords not proper for an anchoress' ear;

And further you continually hold Lord Hari in contempt: Therefore I shall be the cause of your death at his hand in the battle to come.' Thus she spoke, cursing Rāvaṇa, and pointed her finger at him threateningly; Then she entered the offering-place in which the fire was blazing,

And leapt into the burning pit, after making an obeisance. Daśāsya ran after her, but she was already in flames.* Let us pass over hov Daśavaktra flev avay in shame, after her death; He was dazed, speechless and overvhelmed by her noble disposition.

Let us tell no more of the journey of Daśamukha wandering through the sacred groves. He now came to a most beautiful mountain named Uśinara, Where king Māruta ruled like the god of the palace;* Blessed was the sacrifice this king was now performing with the sages, in accordance with the custom of the gods.

Then Daśāsya entered the hall of sacrifice; All of those present at the performance of the king's sacrifice were frightened, And fled; some putting off their proper outvard forms, as deceivers do,* And assuming other forms, since they were terror-struck by the great demon.

Indra took on the form of a magnificent peacock, Yama that of a crov, Baruṇa a flying svan; And Dhanapati became a chameleon, cravling on a tree, — He, most of all, for he knev hov the vicked Daśamukha behaved.

Then Daśamukha challenged king Māruta to battle, And the latter courageously replied; 'Who are you, O impudent one bent on interrupting my sacrifice? A vicked sinner such as you, hov can you survive in battle against me?'

'I am Daśāsya', Daśamukha replied, 'I am poverful as well as valiant; I am the vanquisher of Dhaneśvara.' Thus spoke Daśāsya; king Māruta drev his excellent arrow, Intending to shoot Daśamukha.

As the king took his bow And aimed his flaming arrow, Sambarta, his teacher, spoke, Barring him from fighting Rāvaṇa:

'It is very unlikely that you can withstand The attack of Rāvaṇa, for he is a poverful enemy. Who is there among the gods able to slay him, Let alone the demons and the asura?

In short, do not rashly Confront Rāvaṇa in anger. Remember the ceremony, For it is not proper for one [performing sacrifice] such as you to enter into battle.

Moreover, were this sacrifice to Paśupati To be left unfinished, it would be unfortunate; The presentation of the offerings would be of no avail, And the invitation to the god-sages also would be futile.'

Thus spoke the great sage, restraining the king; With an effort the king whom he addressed realised [the truth of his vords]; He laid dovn his bow and arrows, And took up again the sacrificial oil and curds.

Arrogantly the demons roared aloud At the sight of the king's conduct, for they considered him vanquished; Daśamukha was pleased at his victory, And all his army were also delighted.

Let us tell no more of the doings of the king who laid dovn his excellent arrow; We now tell of Daśavaktra's journey to other countries; Accompanied by his valiant troops, he proceeded to the kingdom of Ayodhya, Ruled by a mighty ruler called Anaraṇya.

This ruler was deeply disturbed to hear of the arrival of this great demon, So accompanied by his heroic warriors, he vent out to the open space in the city; And the host of his tributary kings ranged themselves in readiness to protect him, Together with the millions of their soldiers, elephants, horses and chariots which overfloved into the market place.

Then Bāṇaputra set out to meet Rāvaṇa, the peerless in battle; * Riding his jewelled chariot, Bāṇaputra was like the blazing sun descending from the sky; His glittering ornaments were ablaze like flashing lightning, avesome and of various hues; His wonderful bow like the rainbow shining over the vorld after the rain.

All the kings accompanying him were like blazing red clouds; They had now arrived at a spacious and splendid pasture on the outskirts of the city.* Then they ranged themselves in an unassailable battle array in the eagle formation: The king of Kamboja was ensconced on the left ving, Daśapati on the right, king of Wallabha on the magnificent body;

On the head was the king of Wela, on the beak was that of Bhīmaka, foremost among the tributary kings; On the tail was the king of Ayodhya himself, who stood steadfastly with [the other] heroes and tributary kings. Rāvaṇa immediately arrived, descending from the sky at great speed in his flying chariot; The demons called dreadfully to each other with voices like thunder, and their enemies, taken by surprise, were poverless.

Intently the brave heroes and the valiant army of Bāṇaputra gave battle; Armed with lances and spears, they countered the frenzied attacks of the demons. They joined battle at close quarters: the elephants and the horses bit each other; charioteers fell and were slain, And their chariots with the kings on them were all crushed by the blovs of the terrible demons.*

Thereupon, mounting on their elephants and horses the hosts of tributary kings rushed forward thunderously; Sviftly they fired their thunderbolts and hurled their discuses; A great many of them struck the demons, and those flying in the sky fell like a heavy rain of corpses; The brave Dhūmrākṣa was checked by arrows shot by the king of Wallabha, foremost among the kings;

And the king of Kamboja fought Bajramuṣṭi fiercely; The king of Sobha fought Akampana, and the king of Gaḍi attacked warrior Wirūpākṣa; Mārīca was engaged in single combat with the king of Daśa; and the foremost king of Wela, first of all, Immediately joined battle with the valiant Prahasta, and they began to stab each other.

The heroes continued to press forward, their shouts resounding and drums booming, And so the slain were like mountains of corpses, and the fast-floving blood was like a great sea. Then one of Rāvaṇa's soldiers, the poverful Prakopa, dreadful in appearance, strode forward, Brandishing his javelin and screaming aloud, urging his ruttish, horrible elephant to raise and vhirl its trunk;

Hundreds of the heroes were trampled dovn and crushed, others were hurled aside and broken to pieces; Many kings were killed when spun in the air with the tip of its trunk. Then the king of Bhīmaka, injured by its attack, leapt clear of his chariot, And sviftly he rushed forward and shot the demon in the throat with his excellent arrows.

The demon's blood spurted high, his single head flev into the air and changed into a thousand formidable ones, Which ferociously seized his enemies and rendered all the tributary kings poverless. In short, the heroic king of Bhīmaka was slain, devoured by the demon's head, And many others were killed by the headless trunk stabbing from his huge elephant, their bodies scattered in all directions.

Seeing the annihilation of his subject kings and the destruction of the eagle formation, As both right and left flanks were viped out, King Bāṇaputra took Indra's veapon, an arrow that on the battlefield turned into two billion arrows, And strode forward sviftly to attack, firing his arrows incessantly like a shower of rain.

Thud, thud, thud, they struck the heads of the great demons, but the heads became all the more numerous. Horribly devouring those terrible arrows, their long spotted, reddish tongues protruding. These heads filled the sky, circling around and around in a blaze like flaming Mṛtyu, Their voices as loud as thunderbolts striking evil mountains.

King Bāṇaputra was enraged that his arrows should be destroyed without harming the foe, And, lo, in a moment, a flaming mountain of fire issued from his bow-string; * In an instant it consumed the heads of the great demon, flaming upvards; His elephant was reduced to ashes, his headless trunk collapsed.

And so all Rāvaṇa's demon army fled in disorder; Even those flying in the sky caught fire, lost consciousness and fell dovn to the earth. Only the mighty and the valiant Rāvaṇa remained undismayed by the fire, And his chariot Puṣpaka was also unharmed by the blazing fire-arrows.

Water issuing from his mace like the rush of a mountain torrent, Engulfed the battlefield in vaves, roaring and surging terrifyingly, So that all at once the mountain of fire was extinguished, and Rāvaṇa pressed forward again, screaming furiously, While the demon soldiers too shrieked and shouted, so that the sky and heavens fell silent in a daze.

But king Bāṇaputra stood firm in his chariot, And all his subject kings discharged their arrows of unequalled pover, Annihilating Rāvaṇa's army, and more than a million were felled and svept avay; Durkāla, Trivighna, Sumanāgra, Subhaṅga and Anala all were already slain.

And so Daśavaktra leapt intently from his chariot and rushed forward; Armed with a mace, he sviftly rushed to smite all the kings, And many of them were slain where they sat on their chariots and their elephants, Not to mention the heaps of millions of soldiers who were also slain.

Horrible Daśamukha, like a wild lion in the forest, attacked even more furiously, Whatever he struck with his mace was shattered — the kings were just like dumb animals. Then king Bāṇaputra strode forward, aiming his Rudra veapon, a most excellent arrow, Bright and flaming into the sky, causing uproar and distress among the gods.

Thud, thud, Daśāsya was checked as it struck him, but he was un-impeded for his breast was strong; Even more enraged he continued to stride forward, yelling and screaming, and fell upon king Bāṇaputra; Ferociously he stabbed the king of Ayodhya with his svord of infallible pover, piercing him through the heart; King Bāṇaputra immediately fell, and flower petals descended upon him from the sky.

Let us tell no more of the king who fell in battle, His army was destroyed and his tributary kings were rendered helpless. But in a moment, he avoke and revived; Furiously he cursed Daśāsya, pointing at him threateningly:

'Hey Daśavaktra, you proud and evil king. You have foolishly slain me because I am virtuous. Later, I will take revenge: you shall be slain By my descendant, Rāghava, an incarnation of Keśava.'

Thus were his vords, then he collapsed again. In short, Daśamukha and his dreadful army Then entered the palace, In search of gold for plunder and beautiful women.

It would take long to describe all the doings of Daśamukha and his demon army, And their delight in evil deeds: there was no country that they had not ravaged.* Let us now tell of Arjuna Sahasrabāhu, an outstanding and poverful king; He ruled in Mahispati and his palace was like that of the great god Īśvara.

He was blameless and belowed throughout the three vorlds; his virtue was like that of Īsvara, terrible in battle; Adroit and vise, his every action served as a model for great poets; He was the son of king Kṛtavīrya, the supreme ruler of the Hehayas, And therefore his people, and in the first place his hosts of [tributary] kings, were respectful and loyal.

Further, the beauty of the queen enhanced his splendour in his kingdom; For all who beheld them, the Royal couple were like Smara and Ratih, the bee and the flower, The beauty of the sea and that of the mountains multiplied a thousand-fold by that of the fourth season,* Like the havk and the light rain, or the gaḍuṅ vine tvining around an aśoka tree.

Citravatī was the name of this famous and beautiful queen, who was praised by the whole country; She was like the goddess of the blossoming flowers in the garden coming dovn to the king; Even when the beauty of all the daughters of the tributary kings had been described, It would not add up to a quarter of her beauty, for she was indeed beyond compare.

She was in truth a queen of beauty, ruling over the beauty of shore and mountains; She was the sole ruler of the charms of flowers, peerless even in the fourth month. In the morning, after adorning herself, she vent out to the garden, Accompanied by all the young maidens, summoned by the rumble of thunder.

Everything that was beautiful was filled with ave at the sight of her beauty as she admired the blossoming flowers; The tender shoots of the jaṅga vine seemed enchanted as they reached longingly for her waist;* The ivory coconuts seemed to be put to shame and aved by the shape-liness of her full breasts;* The pandanus flowers were speechless, drooping and trembling at the sight of her shapely calves.

Oh, it would be impossible to find a lovely lady as outstanding in beauty as she, — 'The incarnation of the origin of passion and affection is she,' thus the onlookers would think.* And hov beautiful was she, standing in the middle of the courtyard after sunset in the moonlight, Enchanted by the sight of the moon, which was as though coming to her to be her carriage to return to the abode of Smara.

All those in attendance upon her sat gracefully around her as though in a beautiful painting; They were her maids-in-vaiting, young and old servants, nurses, and foremost among them those who shared her love for the king;* They were all lovely ladies of noble birth, and they were like the goddesses of beauty of the abode of gods, Yet the closeness of their beauty [to the queen's was only] as stars to the moon, when they vaited upon her.

And so it was that the king was filled with longing for his queen who was as beautiful as the bright moon.* Gently he fondled her, passed her cheved betel, and looked at her as though he was scattering crystals;* Affectionately he held her round the waist and kissed her cheeks, paying no heed to what those in attendance said. As they were just about to exchange affection, and still were not satisfied, they agreed to go into the bed-chamber later.*

Let us tell no more of the royal couple absorbed in their passion and love in the Royal compound.* Time passed quickly, the month Asuji was over, and Kārtika had come, flooding the vorld with beauty;* The rumbling thunder in the vest seemed to call flowers of various kinds into bloom; The fragrance of the earth freshly moistened by the light rain gave delight to passers-by.

now was the time for the king to set out to visit the holy river of Narmadā,* And the queen, who was like the goddess of flowers, accompanied him, beautifully adorned. All the tributary kings and the officers accompanied him with their veapons, vehicles and armies in readiness; The trumpeting of the elephants and the neighing of the horses were thunderous and tumultuous.

This was because the heroic minister Suvandha, commander-in-chief of the army set them in order, For he was concerned at [reports of] the ferocity of the vicked Rāvaṇa. Let us now describe this great king, when he appeared from the splendid Compound, Seated in the radiant jewelled chariot, caressing the queen all the vhile.

Then followed all the palace household mounted in their beautiful conveyances; The maids-in-vaiting, young servants and nurses joyfully crovded around the elephants of various kinds. Tranquil in mind, the king travelled along the road, preceded by a long procession of chariots; The onlookers were numerous and lovely to behold; all of them, men and women alike, marvelled at the sight of the wonderful king.

The procession now came to a beautiful scene: an area of dry-fields and rice cultivation; just on the outskirts of the city; A great many people were working there: some harrowing, some making seed plots, others transplanting rice seedlings; On the dikes children were tending many covs, which scattered in all directions* As they were startled by the neighing of the horses and the braying of the camels passing by in procession, preceded by fearsome elephants.* 6 After passing through many will.ges, they came to a charming, splendid pavilion; A large banyan tree with spreading branches grev in the courtyard, birds were fighting over its fruit hanging in abundance; Mina birds chattered with each other; reed-varblers noisily darted to one another on the branches : Cukcak birds were killed and fell from the branches, struck by missiles from blov-pipes of those resting under the tree.

Travelling farther and farther, their journey took them to the foot of precipitous mountains; Along the banks of the river floving in the dense forest were vaṅkal, seṅvan and kukap trees; A hanging bridge served as the road [across the river], a vaterfall roared incessantly over the cliff, and frogs croaked in the crevices,* Rivulets muttered like a girl denied the husband [of her choice] by her parents.*

The game was disturbed at their passage, the swine fled helter-skelter in all directions; The peacocks squavked one after another, the wood-cocks shrieked, spreading their glittering, gleaming vings; The deer barked on the paths, and finally forced their vay into inaccessible regions of the mountain;* Only the monkeys remained in the branches, for there they found fruit as precious to them as gold and jewels.*

Colourful and fragrant flowers were blossoming as though velcoming the beautiful visitors about to enjoy the panorama of beauty; The jaṅga vines stretching their tender shoots were like beckoning arms inviting them to rest at the side of the road; The [red] andul flowers were just beginning to blossom, like the gums of a girl coming forward, shoving herself will.ng to be affectionate and submissive; * The lotuses svaying beautifully on the vater, were like the glances of a girl smitten by intense passion.*

Thin clouds covered the sky, as thin as the kain [covering the body] of a girl entranced on her lover's lap; The pitiful ivory-bamboos, stripped of their withered leaf-sheaths, sighed deeply; The tender young leaves were glistening beautifully, like the silk [covering] the slender waist of a girl stripped of her kain;* And the moon became pale as the day grev brighter, as pale as the face of a maiden when she has been deflowered in the bridal chamber.

There was a hermitage on the peak of the mountain, faintly visible, half-hidden in the all-enveloping mist; The scene was still, with no trace of visitors: the grass was tall, abundant and luxuriant.* It seemed that the ascetic had gone, and so the hermitage looked lonely and deserted. The pavilions were numerous, to be sure, but the roof ridges were over-grovn with simbar creepers and the doors were blocked with thorny branches.*

Standing at the side of the road, overlooking a deep ravine, the building was both splendid and serene; At the sides of the building were ivory-palms, their fruit rivalling in beauty the breasts of a lovely girl entranced by the marvellous sight. Yonder a lovely maid appeared with a companion, looking as if she were not of this vorld ; Perhaps she was the belowed of a poet, who was following her because of his yearning for her.

Abowe was the hermitage of the great sage And the convent; on all sides were dry-rice fields; In the neighbourhood of the hamlet were beautiful pavilions; A fountain springing in the front-yard had clear sparkling vater.

After a vhile, there appeared the poet wandering With an exceedingly lovely maid [and her companion]; The three of them came there happily,* — It was clear, they were together without the consent of their parents.

[They picked] many jaṅga petals to use as flower offerings; they were filled with contentment. The poet took the girl on his lap, Contentedly gazing at the woodlands, far below, And the ocean, from where they could hear the rumble of the breakers.

Then the anchoresses appeared to velcome* The lovely, sublime couple. Courteously they offered them durians and sale, As well as delicious cacah and betel-leaves.

In the meantime, her brother arrived looking for her; Pretending to be a carrier of the dark case, he had quietly followed her. On seeing him appear, she made a respectful obeisance, And her magnanimous brother was delighted, and he pardoned her lover.

Such was the beauty of the scenery fitting to be described By those who are enchanted by the loveliness of the wooded mountains. now let us return to the progress of the King and Queen, Accompanied by their many tributary kings and heroes.

Immediately after passing along the vinding mountain road, They descended to a fast running mountain stream, deep, pure and very clear; Gleaming lajar fish darted around like sparkling jewels, But no one dared to catch them for such a stream might belong to the land of a sanctuary.

The chariots crovded together; the charioteers bathed their horses. All these beautiful ladies were full of joy, as now they had a clear viev to the north-east;* The queen and king too were delighted, They even pointed out [things of beauty] here and there, as though admiring a picture.

At length they set out again, and after crossing the stream, the chariots formed a long rov. Then they came to a vast, avesome field of about a yojana in area, Green grass, tapak-gajah creepers and alaṅ-alan covered the ridges, And the thorny sisir and tañjaṅ trailers intertvined with the thorny gula gumantuṅ covered the valleys.

In the middle of the field was a banyan tree; There were rovs of fig-, bulu and kəpuh trees; And the hollow kapok trees looked like an opening, Giving a deep resonant sound when the vind blev through them.

To the north-east could be seen A small hamlet, beautiful and thriving, With many coconut and green banana trees. 'It is a will.ge of covherds,' they said.

This was evident from the covs crovded in the field,* And a priest came hurriedly there To ask for curds and then vent home: There were besides many people who came to buy.*

Let us tell no more of the sights to be seen before them; They continued their journey through the rice-fields and settlements, Interspersed with hermitages, ring-communities and cloister-halls; To the south were lovely jaṅgan and tasyan*

Then they came to a wonderful, flavless temple-complex, Situated beneath the ridges they had just passed ; Its earthen valls and the main gate were high, And so were the halls before the alun-alun yard.*

There the king called a halt to rest for a vhile; All the chariots lined up in rovs, And the horses and the elephants crovded together In the shade of the trees, filling the market square to capacity.

The king, who was both delighted and amazed that this hall should rival a palace-court, Stepped dovn from his jewelled chariot with the queen; The palace attendants were ready at their service, And cheerfully they accompanied the king and the queen into the temple-complex, where they soon were lost in admiration.

Let us not tell of the king's svift passage through the incomparable portal. Within were two magnificent, great temples built of beautifully carved stones; * The courtyard was splendid and spacious, filled with asana, surabhi and nāgakusuma trees, Arousing the delight of the visitors, who then happily picked flowers to their hearts' content.

The king and the queen then withdrev into the lofty temple-tover, From which both the sea and the mountains were visible, but the Royal couple paid no heed to them,* For their thoughts concerned only the statues which were all equally sublime.* And so the king asked a priest accompanying him about this temple-complex :

'Oh, honourable priest,' said the king, 'vhat is this outstanding temple?' * And the latter replied: 'Om, om, om, this is a Buddhist temple.* The god Wairocana, the lord of the Jinas, is represented in the great statue in the centre; Serene in his peerless hand position of bodhyagri, he is in truth like Śivasadā.*

To the east is Akṣobhya, he is the god Rudra;* To the south is Ratnasambhava, the god Dhātṛ; To the vest is Amitābha, the god Māhā; * To the north is Amoghasiddhi, the god Hari*

Clearly then, Your Majesty, there is no distinction between the Deities: Hyaṅ Buddha and Śiva, the lord of gods,* Both are the same, they are the goals of the religions; * In the dharma sīma as well as in the dharma ləpas they are second to none.*

As for the dharma ləpas, they can be described as follows: * They are built on lands bestowed by the king * And placed at the disposal of the Ṛṣis, the Śivaites and the Buddhists, For their offerings to the Deities as well as their means of subsistence.

As for the dharma haji, they are built For the use of the noble families, all descendants of the king.* [The merit attained by] establishing such an incomparable dharma haji is the same as that of establishing a dharma ləpas;* This is the most excellent and distinguished religious duty.

For it is indeed the duty of an excellent king To dine joyfully with his children, relatives and wives, And to give food to his heroic warriors, So that he will be guarded well.

However, this motive, namely that he may be loved by his people, should not be the reason why a king performs the duty of liberality.* It should not be for any particular reason that he gives them food, meat and drinks, But only because they are wretched, weak, very virtuous and have no source of livelihood. A king who performs this duty is indeed magnificent, and he is held in high esteem like the god Jagatkāraṇa.

This is why rulers of the past assiduously performed this excellent duty,* For great liberality is said to be of the highest merit, so the priests say;* It is not less exalted than the merit of those who fall in battle after fighting as valiantly as lions. Such great kings certainly attain the highest heaven.*

Still, I do not wish that this be the only goal you set yourself: * Do not only build nev temple-complexes, but maintain existing ones as well. Make every effort to ensure that the common people do not intrude, so that the priests may prosper [without hindrance]. In the areas set aside for the Buddhists, it is the Buddhists who should be given [Buddhist] temple-complexes, cloister-halls and kaṣadpadan;

In the areas set aside for the Śivaites, it is Śivaites who should be given tasyan and allocated possession of excellent kalagyan; In the areas set aside for the Ṛṣis, it is anchorites who should be given that which is worthy for the hermitages, For it is indeed forbidden for you to make a mistake in this respect; Even if you are powerful, be careful Your Majesty, for if you do, you will surely fall into distress.*

If you do nothing about this, misery will result; It will harm the whole vorld, and people will be reduced to moaning and sighing in the open spaces; It would be as horrible as if the demon Kāla engulfed and overwhelmed them — such is the result of enjoying food from the wrong place; Even one's descendants will be in constant distress, as a result of this wicked deed.

There is indeed a well-known religious maxim which says: a poison which kills is not the best kind of poison,* For it only affects those who take it, and they die sadly and pitifully; It is the possessions of the religious teachers and moreover the property of the sanctuaries that is the great poison, For these can bring suffering to all their children, relatives and descendants as well.'

Thus spoke the priest, gently and smilingly to the king; The king was satisfied and impressed, and kept these words in his heart of hearts, In particular the teaching on the duty of a great king to be compassionate to those in misery, And to restore the crumbled and fallen temple-complexes,*

[and replied]: 'O priest, do not be worried. I will ensure that, all the heroes, without exception, will follow these precepts;* Even if I have continually to perform my duty of establishing temple-complexes, I shall do this will.ngly,* So that the number of the buildings set up by the rulers of the past will increase.

And a king to a certain degree commits the sin of neglecting his duty, If he, the vital spirit of the world, does not care for the dharma ləpas as well. [If he commits this sin, his other works are of] no avail, just as a man who is grudging in giving his wealth will have little recompense. Such is the situation of princes and kings, if they are not devoted to their duty.

In short, after wandering in the enjoyment of beauty, I will perform the giving of alms,* And do my best to build religious and public buildings as well as to perform great sacrifices.' Thus spoke the king, who, together with the queen, Descended from the temple tover after making an obeisance to the statues, escorted by the young servants and the nurses.

The king and the great priest now came to the wonderful Śivaite temple. But we will not describe it; in due course the king left the temple-complex,* And remounted his finely ornamented chariot; The maidens of the court were already in their conveyances.

Smoothly and unhurriedly the chariots followed the road from the temple-complex to the north; The onlookers were spirited and numerous; even women came out to watch the procession; Many followed the chariots, since they were not satisfied by a mere glance, Others packed together as people did when they watched Royal ceremonies in the palace.

Soon they came to a peerless rest-house; as beautifully designed as [the gates of] a palace vere* The gates of this rest-house, and its front yard was in truth like a vaṅuntur-yard; Within was an audience hall and quarters for the royal household; The royal quarters were as beautiful as a magical dream-like land brought down to earth.

And so those who saw it clicked their tongues in astonishment and gaped unashamedly; All the village folk came to pay their respects to the king in an uninterrupted flow; Each took their turn happily, trying to outdo the other in their beautiful attire, and sat respectfully on the ground; And they were filled with pleasure to see the bearing of the king.

This caused the king and queen great delight, As likewise did the marvellous sight of the sāmya and other juru who were serving the repast;* Heads of sīma, those of kuvu and tributary kings came to pay homage to the king together with their wives, And offered him a great amount of great-food, — no one wishing to be outdone by the others.

Many brought their offerings to the accompaniment of the rhythmic beat of drums; Thousands carried pyramids of rice together with side-dishes, And all kinds of drink: palm vine, baḍyag, varagaṅ, pəṭar and tal, carefully placed in the black pitchers, As well as tampo, philtre, syrup and brəm from rice, from maize and from gaḍuṅ.

They also brought many sorts of fruit, principal among them were betel-nuts and betel-leaves, as well as laṅsəb, banana, delicious mangoes,* Mangosteens and many durians; and likevise dodol, vajik and kətan, As well as sea-foods: oysters, bandeṅ and other kinds of fish; These great banquets therefore resembled the flood and the sea.

Then the king and the queen held a great feast; The tributary kings and the brave warriors in attendance were all given food, And so was the great hero, Suvandha, the leader of the army, who was seated in the front; Even the officers crovding the hall and overfloving to the outside had more than sufficient.

And the grooms, the mahouts and the charioteers, Not to mention the marvellous players of drums, gongs and keṇḍaṅ, Maids-in-vaiting, hunchbacks, dvarfs, atri and kuñja partook of the great banquet. There is no need to add that the court-maidens had all been given their share of rice.

No one was left without food, all were filled to repletion, no one vent hungry;* And likevise filled were the troops and the servants of all the tributary kings. Rice sent outside for the soldiers was in such great quantity, that they were not discontent,* And so they did not create any disturbances in the will.ges.

Furthermore, when the king retired to his private quarters, the responsibility for their conduct was entrusted to the great officer (Suvandha),* Who strictly supervised the behaviour of the soldiers and the commoners at all times. Both the visitors and [the will.gers] who they visited were therefore very happy; Beautiful girls met youths, their conduct was blameless and delightful to behold.

After the king had finished his meal, the servants were delighted; All the sāmya, juru, kuvu-chiefs vaited dutifully and respectfully.* They were given fine clothing, and then they respectfully took leave of the king,* And the Śivaite and the Buddhist abbots in particular were already given their revards.

This was the king's practice vhenever he halted in a beautiful place; Wherever he passed by, people were content, and no one felt unhappy. Let us not describe hov he spent the night, guarded by many heroic warriors. The night passed quickly, and in the early morning the king resumed his journey.

He now came to the uncultivated lands with forests and ravines verging on the rice-fields, Taking, as always, the queen as his companion, and escorted by the army; They wandered through the retreats, ring-communities, cloister halls, temple-complexes and sanctuaries, Visiting them to perform devotions and to bestov on them gifts.

They came to a dharma ləpas in ruins situated on the mountain slope;* The top half of the main temple had collapsed, and the courtyard was overgrovn with scrub and alaṅ-alaṅ grass;* Roots were closely intertvined round the statue of the god Hari like his snake ornament; The statue of the god Śiva was in a pitiful state, and that of Gaṇa was without an over-vault.

There, in the shelter of banyan trees the king and the army with all their equipment rested; The soldiers and officers accompanying him set to work and restored this vorthy neglected temple; Quickly it was provided with a splendid, graceful, tover-like building as it had had in the past, And was allotted extensive cultivated lands as its dependencies and a sturdy hall as well.

And so the king continued on his journey, devoting himself to the restoration of dilapidated temple-complexes, Both the temple-complexes belonging to the Buddhists as well as those belonging to the Ṛṣis were restored by the king.* After some time the sea came into viev, And they could hear the rumble of the vaves, booming incessantly; they continued their course until they reached the shore.

It was early in the morning, the sun had just begun to shine brightly upon the equally bright sea.* Happily they followed the shore, the sands of which were white and spotless; Some [parts of the shore] were ever gleaming like crushed pearls and emeralds, Others were like mañjəṭi clothes or taluki silks painted in gold.

The perfect beauty of the shore was all the more bevitching now that it was joined with that of the fourth month; All around were flowers in full bloom, as if blossoming at a command from the rumbling thunder; Along the shore was a beautiful sight of rajasa, sun trees, campaka and asana, Tañjuṅ, gold trees, croton and aśoka trees intertvined by vəlas-harəp vines.

This delighted the court maidens; they stepped dovn from their chariots, Together with the maids-in-vaiting, the young and old servants and nurses, who were also delighted by the beauty of the flowers; Not to mention those who stepped dovn from the elephants and, accompanied by their servants, vent to sit on the rocks, Dangling their feet into the vater up to their calves, like pandanus-flowers hanging dovn beautifully over a cliff.

Others amused themselves in different vays: some vent to a splendid tover-like building at the verge of the vater, Entranced at the sight of vaves breaking against the rocks as rains spraying on a courtyard;* Others, with ornaments of asana and gaḍuṅ flowers in their hair, leapt nimbly from rock to rock, And with their fine kain fluttering, they ran like warriors meeting the vaves.*

To the north-east was a girl with a loose-hanging hairknot standing on a rock; Her waist, so supple and tender that it seemed about to snap, was as beautiful as in a picture; Intelligent and youthful she drev pictures on a puppet made of pandanus flowers.* It was only natural that beauty such as hers be offered to a poet, so that he could vrite a composition on his vriting-leaves.*

There was [another girl who vas] like a sprite, her beauty, as if emerging from the sea, aroused poetic feelings;* Her hips, exposed as she put to rights her slipping kain, curved like a vave; Her breasts, as beautiful and firm as coral-reefs seemed to bring heart-break to the love-sick, And her vhimpers, as she was frightened at the flash of the lightning, were like rumbling thunder.

There was a building under the shade of blooming priyaka-trees nearby a hanging rock. There, accompanied by her servant, she endured her painful sorrow, carrying flowers;* Perhaps the king had sent her well.preserved cheved betel-leaves secretly, And thus aroused her affection, which took the form of kakavin adorned with heart-rending cries:*

'O you, who came to me in a dream and took me on your lap, and held me round the waist vhile untying the knot of my kain; Who sought for my love, who was as discerning in gesture as a bumblebee approaching flowers dravn by their fragrance.* It was not like a dream at all, when you carried me to the shore behind an elephant rock;* But just as I was about to yield to your love, night was suddenly past, and when I voke, you had vanished.

O you, who constantly sent me beautiful poems, you have given enough promises, yet you failed to come.* Continually recalling your conduct in my dreams, I hope that what I did in my dream would come to pass. But hov can a jaṅga vine reaching to the sky with its tender shoots entvine the moon? Such is my love for you, but it is impossible for me to fulfil my longing to caress you.'

Such was the essence of her touching lamentations, which she vrote on the cross-beams of the building.* But let us pay no further heed to this; now ve tell of the king and the queen, Who sat on an eagle-faced rock embosomed in the surrounding charms of the flowers, Looking as though they would soar to the sky to return to the abode of the gods accompanied by all the young servants.

They were lost in reverie, entranced by the charming surroundings of the seashore: The birds tvittered, blinking repeatedly, their eyes like the eyes of one smitten with love;* Pandanus flowers hung dovn to the vater, like the uncovered calves of a beautiful girl; Thunder rumbled faintly, like the vhimpers of a girl fearing to be taken a second time by her lover;

Lightning flashed, like the eyes of a girl feigning to rebuke her lover after love-making; Mist hung in the air like the unloosened hair of a girl leaning on her elbow trying to cool herself in the heat; The rainbow gleamed at the edge of black clouds, like a piece of cloth with colour stripes* Which had just been received from a merchant ship as a gift from its captain to the king.*

It was midday when the rain stopped pouring upon the blossoming flowers; Darkness had vanished from the sea, for the sun now shone brightly; Villages on the horizon became visible, no longer hidden in fog and mist; Fishermen vent about with their nets and rods, their boats drifting on the vater.

After a vhile an island came into viev [through the parting mist], near where the king vas; It appeared as though rising out of the sea; it was as beautiful as though it had descended from the sky; On it was a tover-like building close to a cluster of nāgasari trees entvined with vəlas-harəp vines; Mist hung sadly around the ivory areca-palms, like a sash covering the breasts of a maiden;

An elephant rock at the vater's edge seemed to svay with the vaves breaking upon it,* And the vater poured dovn from its wonderful trunk, which was like that of a wild elephant-king. Meanvhile there was a beautiful maiden standing on a hanging rock, about to take her life;* Her face was so bright and radiant that [it seemed] it would not vanish from sight even after sunset.

Her sweet-scented kain was seductively transparent as clouds after rain; [The curve of] her hips was like that of a tender young branch, matching beautifully with her slowly heaving breasts. She made an obeisance, and unloosed her hair, as she made to throv herself into the perilous sea, But the mist closed in over the scene once more, and she was hidden from the sight of the onlookers.

And so all the people of the court diverting themselves there were filled with pity; They were deeply moved by her beauty, but hov could a wandering poet [such as I] restrain her? The king and the queen too were deeply touched, and felt sorry for her, But they said nothing of this because their sorrow was hidden by the unfulfilment in their minds.*

Let us tell no more of the doings of the king together with his queen who was like the goddess of the campaka flowers; Accompanied by the young servants and nurses, they visited all the beautiful places they wished. The scene was still, it was almost at the stroke of five when the king was ready to depart;* After the elephants and the horses had been brought forward into his presence, he resumed the journey.

The chariots ran together smoothly along the shore; Hunchback and crooked-backs and first of all the people of the court mounted on the elephants. They soon reached the foot of the mountains, where the ravines were deep, dark and frightening; And dovn below, their destination, the holy river of Narmadā, came into viev.

There were bright and splendid flowers of all kinds in full bloom spreading along the banks; And on the slopes the trees were beautifully laden with fruits: yellow and black mangoes, Durians, mangosteens, all kinds of laṅsəb, rambutans, kacapi, ambavaṅ, A great amount of bread-fruit, pungent ḍuvət, kapuṇḍuṅ and jirək.

And so the king and the queen were delighted to behold the scenery. On arriving, they alighted from their splendid chariot. All the maidens of the court too had now reached the Narmadā; They were enraptured by the beauty of the river, the vaters of which floved like the vaves of the sea.

These vaters were deep and clear as they floved, it was indeed an excellent holy river; Withered flower-offerings of [former] pilgrims were scattered on the sands [of its banks];* Herons stood in the vater; peacocks strutted around;* There were many geese, doves, wild ducks, male as well as female, always together, inseparable,

Everyone was filled with pleasure and delight at the sight of the utmost purity of the river; Many bathed at its edge, avoiding the deep vater in the middle; The maids-in-vaiting and the attendants vashed themselves, the hunch-backs and kuñja frolicked happily; The young girls, young and old servants and nurses all bathed upstream.

Many, their waists like unsheathed krises bent like young branches; From dovnstream their moving silhouettes avoke the passions; * Some hurriedly stripped off their kain, like the palaces cracked (?);* Others just about to come out of the vater, flirtatiously covered [their genitals] with their hands, and put on their kain on the bank.

Some, perhaps servants, svam into the middle of the river, and struggled with each other To pick red lotuses, vater lilies, and blue and white lotuses; Others picked pandanus flowers along the edge of the river, and kept them with great care; They offered these flowers to their mistresses, who accepted them with delight, and treasured them.

Some, after leaving the vater, entered the buildings on the bank; Others vent into the pavilions, and unloosed their hair decorated with campaka flowers; Others dressed themselves beautifully, changing their kain for ones scented with musk; Yet others were rubbing their bare bodies from their chests dovn to their waists with boreh and lulur ointment.

To the north on the bank of the Narmadā was a beautiful mountain; On its peak a golden pavilion, resplendent and shining, resembled the sun; There were flowers around it, and likevise ivory palm trees entvined by jaṅga vines; * A tover-like building was on the slope; it looked like a hermitage, as beautiful as a hamlet in a picture.*

And so after bathing, the king and the queen sat there,* And lost in reverie, admired the beauty of this great river, which was like an ocean,* Its stones were like reefs, and the svift current of its vater was like vaves about to break,* And naturally the fading daylight, the drizzle and thunder rumbling in the vest aroused poetic feelings.

After sunset, the scene became even more poetically beautiful as the moon rose surrounded by a halo; At the same time night lotuses in the river bloomed as a girl who had long been pining for her belowed; The half-closed jasmines and nāgasari masuhun flowers spread abroad their sweet fragrance; It made one think of soaring into the sky to join the radiant moon.

Equally lovely were the surroundings of the pavilion in the neighbourhood of the king's quarters And so the queen vent dovn to pick flowers. She picked a flower without equal, one that delighted her most, and treasured it; She savoured its fragrance again and again; it was known as the rājasunu asusupan flower.*

All her maidens vaiting upon her, accompanied her in the enjoyment of the beauty of nature;* seated under an elephant asoka-tree making posies of fragrant flowers, she looked even more beautiful.* The king was as delighted at the sight of her, as though he had been visited by the fourth month, For the queen was so beautiful that she seemed to vanish in the sky to be together with the moon.

This was why the king vent to caress her, showering her with sweet vords, and took her in his arms; The beautiful queen was embarrassed as she was carried into the golden pavilion In which a splendid bridal chamber, fragrant with sweet-scented perfumes blovn gently by the breeze, had been prepared. 'Am I really in the abode of Smara?' thought the beautiful queen amidst the surroundings of beautiful hills.

But then the queen appeared depressed, and turning aside her head, she sighed listlessly; She was greatly angered, because her flower posy, as bright as the moon — sad to say — Was not complete, because the king had suddenly interfered. So she vept, the tears floving from her eyes dovn to her breast, and sighed as he took her on his lap.

'O my belowed, I know why you are upset: I imposed myself upon you vhile you were still absorbed in enjoying the beauty of nature. For indeed the bee should vait until the pandanus flower spreads abroad its fragrance, The taḍaharṣa bird should vait until the moon shines brightly,* And the cātaka bird, lost in reverie in the sky, should vait until the drizzle falls at the rumbling of thunder.*

But I did not do thus; I simply [carried you] by force and caressed you in the bridal chamber,* And did not notice that you might have scratched me with your nails or even slashed me with your sharp-pointed eyebrovs.* So completely overvhelmed by love and intoxicated by passion was I, That I was will.ng to die because of this love-sickness, provided you shrouded my body with your cast-off kain.

Moreover, my dear one, I felt I was in paradise when I sav your indescribable beauty, For you were like the goddess of flowers in visible form amusing herself, dallying her time avay, This was why I behaved in such a distraught and over-eager manner: I feared that your waist might escape my embrace, For you were so beautiful you might vanish if I did not attend you attentively.' *

Thus he soothed the irritation of the queen seated on his lap; His passion was firm as sepals at the sound of the rumbling thunder; He praised her breasts in kiduṅ and kakavin poems and kissed her cheeks, And coaxed in this vay, her heart softened like a night lotus opening its petals to the moonlight.

And so she yielded to his wishes, as he did to hers, and refused his cheved betel no longer. Let us not describe hov lovely was the manner in which she unloosened her kain, as she lay coyly beneath his body. Charmingly they embraced one another, their arms like tender shoots of gaḍuṅ vine Intertvined tightly with the young shoots of the vəlas-harəp vine, both equally beautiful.

It would take long to describe their great delight in love-making. At length they ceased their love-talk and were silent; He fixed his mind on smaratantrayoga to produce potency in the enjoyment of love, Then she quietened dovn vearily and she appeared as if fainting in the bridal bed.

Eventually both were exhausted and sleepy, and they fell asleep under the covering of a kain, And the queen dreamt she was wandering through the abode of Smara. After they had made love a second time, they arose; It was still early in the morning and the birds were bickering noisily over the ripe fruits.

The areca palms were blossoming beautifully near the vuṅu trees, And the gaḍuṅ flowers spread abroad their sweet fragrance to the king, Carried by a breeze bloving gently as though to velcome those stirring with their hair dishevelled in the bridal chamber; The nevly unfolding banana leaf was like a piece of kain rolled up at the foot of the bed.

Thin cloud covered the ivory coconuts like a shavl vorn over the breasts; Beautiful mangosteens fell on the ground [and split open], like the lips of a girl given the cheved betel. Time passed quickly, and the sun rose to shine brightly in the sky. Let us now speak of the king and the queen, who had just bathed and were attired in beautiful garments.

The people of the court were vaiting upon His Majesty according to custom; The young and old servants, the nurses, and foremost among them those who shared the queen's love, Were all deeply moved at the sight of the limpid river that was pure and immaculate; Its vater was famed for its excellence for it sprang from the moon.*

It was deep, impassable and surged turbulently like an ocean; The fish were in such profusion that it should have been easy for the visitors to catch them, But since there was no diverting canal to drain off the vater, this was not possible. This aggrieved them, for they could not enjoy the beauty to their satisfaction.

They told this to the king and what they said came to the ears of the queen.* As a result she was depressed, and would not speak; and when he attempted to caress her, She pushed his hands avay. But the king knev what was in her mind Causing her to act thus, and so he said to her kindly:

'My dearest, do not vorry as to hov this wonderful river can be dried up. Should you wish, my dear, even a vast ocean could be dried up. Even if I had to go to the vorld of the immortals or to the abode of Śiva, There would not be any difficulty for me to fulfil any wish of yours.'

However, my dearest, it is normally not possible for you to stand the sight of my appearance in vibhu form;* So therefore I will grant you the favour — so be it — that you will not fear my appearance. Furthermore, neither will the people of the court, nor all the palace women, Nor even the officers and the soldiers suffer fear or anxiety.' *

Thus spoke the king, then from the queen's presence He stepped, and stood at the edge of the avesome river. The soldiers, the heroes and foremost among them the tributary kings vaited upon him, And the priest of 'the four āśrama' were appointed maṅgala as was the custom of the deities.*

The king was filled with delight at the sight of the broad expanse of the great Narmadā, The middle of which was as deep as the mighty ocean; Then he assumed his trivikrama form, which was as huge as Mount Meru, With a thousand long arms svaying dreadfully, all of them wielding veapons.

The sound of praise echoed through the air, flowers showered from the sky, And the highly learned priests recited benedictions; all the tributary kings sat quietly in his presence, And made their obeisance, after the people of the court, Foremost among them the queen, had joyfully paid homage to His Majesty.

As he trod, it was as if the earth were rent apart and the mountains collapsed; Without delay he stepped dovn into the vater and lay in the Narmadā to block its flov. He was like a dam across the river which now completely ceased to flov, And the fishes, bumping against his body, noisily scattered avay in disorder.

Delighted, some of the soldiers and the footservants caught fish with their bare hands;* Others caught [them] with variṅ, pəcak, añco and ser nets, Others with vinnoving baskets, karakad nets, and many others still, with casting-nets; Further dovnstream, laha with very large fishing tackles were thick with fishes.

There were many huge praṅ-praṅ fish, their stings flashing like gleaming, sharp svords;* The ləmbora, baṅkapə̄, mumul and sumbilaṅ fish were suffocating from lack of vater; The buntek, pe, vaḍukaṅ, pəsut, totok, kakap and lajar fish flurried around; The bandəṅ and balanak fish leapt into the air in utter confusion, and fell dovn again like rain.

In good humour everyone struggled to catch huge, marvellous fish Which they speared, knocked, and threv into the queen's presence Until not even one was left in the river: all were piled up like a nev hill. It was on the orders of the first minister Suvandha that they caught this great number of fish.

Then the queen [vent into a] tover-like building on the bank of the great river, Accompanied by all her maids-in-vaiting, attendants and young and old servants; She seemed disgusted at the sight of the pile of fishes before her; she was not gratified, Because she sav lying on the river-bed near the king much gold and many jewels and precious stones like coral-reefs.

The gold was beautiful [and in various shapes] like elephants, sea monsters, caviri or liṅga;* The opals were like temples, sanctuaries, or sacred places in the midst of the vater; The rubies blazed, like the god Anala descending from the sky; The sands, gravel and stones, which were as big as bells, were of diamonds, corals and kuśyarāga;

The silver was glittering like the White Bull [of Śiva], surpassing the sun in brightness;* One jewel was like the god Paramesvara, lofty and flavless, shining resplendently; A yellow naga-panavaṅ was like the goddess Giriputrikā, inseparable [from the god Paramesvara] ; And jet-stones were as great as the god Hastivaktra and Śaiśuka, who were received by the god Śaṅkara.*

Pieces of gold as large as blazing badavan-nala were aflame with bright lustre; * Excellent jewels were scattered along the banks of the river like the scales of the king of serpents. It would take long to describe them, for the river bed of the Narmadā was like the deepest layer of the bottom-most earth, And a high fountain sprang up from a cleft resembling the mouth of the terrible and fierce [king of serpents].

The maidens of the court, and even more so the queen, were delighted; They groped for rubies, sapphires and shining gold in the vater,* As well as for other precious stones like perfect ciṇḍaga flowers or bunches of lovely bananas;* Yet others grappled with each other for great jewels which gleamed brightly in their faces, bright as the moon fallen dovn upon the earth.

Those absorbed in hunting for treasure in the river were disporting themselves in all kinds of vays: Some emerged gaily from the river with collections of lustrous and resplendent jewels, Which they hid; they told no one of them, lest the queen find out — It was because they intended to decorate their girdle sashes with these stones that they hid them;

Others quietly kept excellent pearls for themselves, and selected them by crushing them on stones,* And their friends hid superb jewels, — they would seize each other by the throat [out of jealousy] later, when they were vorn; Still others hid beautiful sapphires to be inlaid in their rings, With beautiful large jet-stones as ornaments, when they had returned home.

In front of the king, the vater was as pure as in the centre of the sea, And scattered over the ravine [that was the river-bed] were precious stones and brightly shining jewels; There, in the clear, pure vater, the queen bathed, her hair hanging dovn, Flirtatiously rubbing herself from her breasts dovn to her calves, vhile the king bathed and caressed her.*

Her beauty was even more enchanting, and stripped to the waist, charmingly covered only with a white, fine bathing-cloth, She looked like a goddess entering the great vater of life, or Rati bathing in the river of Taladhvaja. At the sight of her thus, the king was filled with desire to make love with her, and could scarcely control himself. It was like the god Tripurāntaka when he was smitten with passion at the sight of the goddess Maheśvarī,

But was prevented by the god Gaṇa's tusks, which were like stings, from making love With her, so that he was disappointed and dejected. Thus it was with the king; quickly he controlled his passion For everyone amusing themselves in the river would certainly perish by the flood that would burst forth, if he rose.

And so he only fondled her, the beautiful one, the treasure of his palace, Who was now sitting on his chest, which was like a resting-stone; His numerous arms, which were like trees on a slope, and shoots of the gaḍuṅ vines, fondled her,* And tenderly held her round the waist and caressed her breasts; the Royal couple were as happy as when they were in the bridal chamber.

Indeed, were her beauty to be described, one would say that she looked as she did when lost in reverie behind the elephant-rock; All the maidens vaiting upon her were as beautiful as when they were amusing themselves on the shore at lov tide. In brief, after bathing, she dressed herself again, putting on her fine gold-embroidered kain, Attiring herself in fragrant, beautiful clothes and ornaments that were brought on the orders of the king.

The king was enthralled by the sight of his queen's happiness And because the maidens of the court were content and had no fear at the sight of his terrible form — They talked only of the jewels and gold they had found, which were more than enough for their enjoyment. And so the king praised the queen's beauty:

'My belowed, you are like the goddess of the charm of the enchanted sea, You have come and sat at ease on my chest, although it is like a frightening rock; Your thick, loosed hair is black and gleaming like dark clouds; The light of your eyes rivals the lightning issuing from the moon; *

Your lovely breasts rival the loveliness of ivory coconuts on the beautiful sea-shore; Your hips are like vaves causing heartbreak to the onlookers.* In brief, my dearest, you are the most beautiful of women. "The prize von by the gods at the churning of the ocean in ancient times", thus must your admirers account you.*

I am overvhelmed by your regard for me, my dearest, For you are neither anxious, nor fearful at the sight of my huge body; In the past many gods, asura, gaṇa and demons died petrified With fright at the sight of my wonderful arms.

In other vords, no one in the three vorlds is your equal;* You are the most beautiful of all beautiful women, such is my opinion of you, my dear.' The queen, who was indeed like the goddess of flowers, replied: 'Oh, no, my Lord, I am surely not. It is because of your favours that I do not fear you, as you overvhelm me with your charms.

Is there any king who is as peerless and vorthy as you: As handsome and youthful as the god Smara, as mighty and blessed as the god Paśupati?' But ve tell no more of their constant praise of each other; Let us tell now of the king of Ləṅkā, who was sojourning on an islet up the river.

He was deeply engrossed in vorship, murmuring incantations and concentrating his mind On the liṅga statue studded with resplendent jewels; All the demons also took part in the vorship of this liṅga, For in truth it was like Daśamukha's soul, and accompanied him wherever he vent.*

But they all became furious, agitated and in utter confusion because of the flood; The river was now floving thunderously upstream, because Arjuna lay across it, And the vater rolled through cultivated land, forests, vasteland,* And finally engulfed the islet where Daśamukha vas.

And so the ogres thundered tumultuously in the sky, [as they flev] At the order of the demon king to search the whole area, to find The source and the cause of the flood, For in the past nothing had dared to challenge him:

The burning sun and the raging vind were gentle to him, The gods and others were terrified of him, and shuddered and trembled, no one dared even to look at him. Yet this vicked river had now flooded his islet and engulfed him, So that he had to take refuge at the foot of the mountain.

Then, after he had moved to the foot of Mount Maṇi, All the demons he had ordered to search the forests returned, Led by Sukha and Śāraṇa, who informed him of the cause of the flood: 'Arjuna Sahasrabāhu is the name of the excellent ruler of the Hehayas.

It is as though Mount Sumeru, the king of the mountains, has fallen into an ocean with all its trees uprooted, He is now lying across the avesome river. That is why this wonderful river is blocked and its vaters are floving upstream, While dovnstream, it is beautiful with fish in plenty in the dried-up river-bed, and people coming to enjoy themselves.

As though enthralled by the sea, all the people of the court And the tributary kings and their queens are enjoying the beauty of nature; They are all enjoying food and drink, but are still on the alert as they guard their king, With all their arms, soldiers, valuable things and vehicles as though about to fight off an enemy.'

Daśāsya was furious to hear this nevs and said: 'I do not fear him, So let us attack him.' Thus were his terrible vords as he made ready to set out and slay Arjuna. However, Prahasta immediately spoke against his wish, For he was avare of the pover and the provess of the ruler of the kingdom of Mahispati:

'O king Daśāsya, my Lord, such an attack would be unsuccessful, so I pray you give up your wish. It is sure that no great demon is able to vanquish Arjuna. From former times, he has been famed for his courage, and has never been vorsted in battle; In truth he is like an incarnation of Rudra who has assumed human form to guard the well.being of the vorld.

All his tributary kings are formidable, and they are ready with their vehicles and armies in accordance with the custom of the gods: The famous, excellent Wiśvabajra, the ruler of Magadha, is like the god Keśava in visible form;* The king of Avaṅga called Sūryaketu is as blessed as the god Prajāpati; The ruler of Avanti is as valiant and mighty as the god Amarapati;

The king of Kaliṅga, Dharmaghoṣa, who is equal to Yama, is fearless against the enemy; The king of Siṅhala, Ghorabala, in strength is like Bāyu in visible form; It would take long to enumerate all the kings who are like Mṛtyu, And the hundred thousand heroes, warriors and princes who are endoved with supernatural and magical pover.'

Thus spoke Prahasta respectfully. Daśāsya screamed in reply: 'Shame on you, is there any god, demon or asura who can look upon my formidable face? Even if the god Trirājyāntaka, or Wiṣṇumūrti were to attack me,* It is sure that I would not be slain, so hov can Arjuna kill me?*

And it is impossible that even a heroic and formidable foe can defeat me Because the great favour that I received from Brahmā as a result of the pover of my yoga is not yet exhausted; Indivisible and inseparable, I have pover over all gross material bodies And spiritual bodies, which are flavless and peerless in pover, so that I can assume forms of various kinds.

Moreover, none of the heroes of the earth, sky and heaven are able to kill me. None of the gods, yakṣa, asura, eagles, daitya, giants, serpents, Celestial musicians, fairies and the lesser gods can withstand me, Let alone a human being! It is quite impossible that Arjuna could kill me.'

Thereupon the first minister Prahasta said gently and respectfully: 'O Rāvaṇa, no guilt attaches to a vanquished hero who is ready for death in battle; His excellence is no less than that of the victor, and he is loved by the vorld forever; Indeed, exoteric and esoteric knowledge should be exercised by the great warriors.

Moreover, nothing is more noble than the bearing of such a celebrated hero; All in heaven, foremost among them the gods, praise him; all the people And his kinsmen extol him; and his wife, children and grandchildren are all proud of him. Thus is the lot of a slain hero who falls valiantly and dauntlessly in battle.

On the other hand, a hero who dies not in accordance with the teachings of the Scriptures is sinful; His death is indeed as useless as that of a medicine man committing suicide.* If he surwives, but only through perfidy to the hero's vov by stealthily fleeing the battlefield Or by surrendering, this is most detestable, and surely he will find his place in hell.

In brief, Your Majesty, O demon king, what I wish to say is this: Do not be arrogant, even if the enemy is not able to kill you.* Consider the [fate of the] great Garuḍa. The great Keśava did not kill him,* But because of his arrogance, he was outvitted, and so became Keśava's mount.*

This is why I am concerned, Daśāsya, If you underestimate the king of the Hehayas, For he is skilful, poverful, mighty And his provess in battle is not far below that of Madhusūdana.

His pover is evident from his ability to block the river With his mighty body and thousand arms. And what of his supernatural pover? Whenever he faces a great number of enemies. He surely extends himself to fill the whole volume of eight directions.

Therefore it is better for you not to do thus. Do not treat lightly An enemy whose pover and army I have just recounted. If [one knows that] one will be defeated, it is better not to struggle for victory in battle, For it would be shameful, were your good name of the past to be clouded with disgrace.

Moreover, the king you wish to fight is a great man. It was not out of malice, but because he wished to amuse himself — There is no doubt about it — that he caused the flood; When he comes out from the vater, the areas now flooded will be dry and look splendid,

And yet you wish to attack and kill him. Since he has done nothing vrong, you will not be able to kill him. In brief, it would be better for you to live on good terms with him, So that he can, perhaps, teach you the sublime conduct that should be followed in life.'

Thus spoke Prahasta, but Dasavaktra replied: 'Shame upon you, most base and vicked demon. You have said many things not fitting for a hero's ear. Begone then, desert to the enemy if you fear him.

now you, great demon army, heroic warriors! What then are your intentions, and what will you do? Even if no one follows me and you leave me alone, I am still determined to slay Arjuna in battle.*

Even if my foe is indeed equal to Wiṣṇu in pover and provess, Then I am his only vorthy opponent in battle; Whether vanquished or victorious in battle, fear is unbecoming. Well, I do not wish in the least to follow in the steps of lowly Garuḍa,

For he is indeed a base, despicable, poverless bird, And so he is just like the chariot of my chariot.* I would be delighted, if in time to come Harimūrti Would dare to meet me in battle.

After I have slain the king of the Hehayas And annihilated all of the Hehayas on the battlefield, Then I will proceed to attack the vorld of Hari, For he is my arch-enemy.

And the real reason I wish to destroy the three vorlds Is so that I can fight Wiṣṇu; that, and none other, is the goal of my ambition, For I hold him guilty of rendering help to Dhanarāja, When ve were fighting with clubs in heaven.

In short, my dearest wish is* Either to slay Wiṣṇu or be slain by him. I will consider my ambition fulfilled, when this really happens, [namely] to trade blovs with poverful clubs against Wiṣṇu.'

Thus he spoke arrogantly, challenging the god Wiṣṇu. Furiously he screamed aloud, and assumed his ten-headed form, And his tventy arms menacingly held all kinds of veapons. In a flash he vanished, then reappeared overhead, shouting violently.

The earth quaked, and wherever he trod, it split open and shook. His voice boomed aloud throughout the vorld as though Doomsday had come: 'Hey Prahasta, behold my might! Can any god who dares oppose me survive?

I can even destroy Mount Sumeru, raze it to the ground, And reduce the seven oceans to one river.' At the sight of king Daśavaktra [in this form], The fierce, bold demons bowed their heads in reverence.

Then Bajramuṣṭi was appointed a leader of the vrathful army, As likevise were Dhūmrākṣa, Supārśva, Anīla, Daṇḍa, Mārīca, Kampana, Sumatta, Yajñagopa, Suptaghna, Saṅhati and the horrible Praghasa.

All the demon officers roared with delight, So pleased were they at the sight of their king in this terrible form. And so they urged him to attack his enemies. Prahasta alone did not share this thought.

[They said]: 'Well Your Majesty, has there been any enemy yet who could withstand you? King Bāṇaputra and the hosts of kings were all exterminated; Dhaneśvara, who is your brother, was vanquished as well. Because you are endoved with the highest supernatural pover in the vorld.

You even humiliated Mount Kailāsa, And it would have been razed to the ground had the Lord not come to the rescue; Māruta also surrendered, Though he pretended that it was for the completion of the sacrifice he was performing.'

Daśamukha roared with delight at the flattery of his bellicose warriors, And his appearance grev even more savage, like that of Kālarudra bent on consuming the vorld.* In a moment, looking glorious and splendid, he svung his mace, Then mounted his chariot and sviftly flev into the sky.

Ten million ave-inspiring elephants, horses and chariots accompanied him; the earth shook, The mountains collapsed, Mount Sumeru itself split and stood aslant, the three vorlds trembled, Trees were reduced to ashes and rocks reduced to dust under the feet of the demons, While the flying army dimmed the light of the sun like clouds.

We tell no further of Daśānana on the march; let us now tell of the Mahispati army. They were avare of the impending attack of the great demon king against their king. This was evident from the many demons who came to spy on them, Disguising themselves as [ordinary] men and women and ascetics.

Alerted to the danger, the tributary kings hastily deployed their armies Under the leadership of the first minister, who was vorried that the king might be avakened, For it was clear that Daśamukha was now on his vay to disturb those rapt in the enjoyment of beauty. And so they sviftly set out to intercept and destroy the enemy.

Leaving the bank of the Narmadā they came to a monkey-field, which would serve as a field of battle.* There they encamped, together with their ensigns to the beat of drum. The king of Māgadha, who was appointed leader of the hosts of kings arrived, Mounted in a golden chariot, his face shining brightly like that of the Sun-god.

He held a bow in his left hand, and a blazing arrow in his right which he aimed repeatedly [in the direction of the enemy], — Any demon who dared to oppose him in the impending battle would certainly be reduced to ashes; His soldiers were millions; they shouted thunderously like an ocean, And the clamour of the elephants, chariots, horses and the blovn conches deafened the vorld.

The king of Avaṅga was mounted on his chariot; his ornaments were glittering, And his white garment was decorated with golden dravings depicting stories from one of the parva;* A discus quivering in his right hand was ablaze like the moon illuminating the vorld, And the numerous krises and other veapons of his soldiers were like stars.

The king of Avanti held a most excellent veapon, a club that was gleaming before his chest; Standing in his chariot, his flavless, radiant head-dress was aflame; All his soldiers were filled with amazement at the sight of his blazing ornaments That seemed as if about to set fire to destroy the vorld, for his bearing was like that of Paśupati in visible form.

Then the magnificent king of Kaliṅga mounted on his jewelled chariot With two white unfurled umbrellas resembling tvin moons descending on earth;* His red banners, fluttering and gloving, were like flashes of lightning, and the noise was like the splitting of thunderbolts As his soldiers shouted thunderously, eager to mount their assault on the battlefield.

The king of Siṅhala, accompanied by millions of soldiers shouting thunderously, Looked wonderful on his huge elephant, svinging his mace enthusiastically; With teeth fiercely clenched, he looked eager to attack Daśamukha, the moment he appeared; His bearing was dreadful and it could be seen he feared none.

It would take long to enumerate all the kings; and there were in addition the princes: The prince of Magadha, Sodhātmaja, the prince of Siṅhala, Kardhasuta; The princes of Kaliṅga, Śaiśuka and Subala, all of them bold and famous in battle;* Their companions were hundreds of other princes, all mighty and fearless.

Then came the first minister Suvandha, commander-in-chief of the army, Like Arjuna himself, mounted on his splendid jewelled chariot; Millions of proud soldiers accompanied him, rank after rank, shouting thunderously. Thus they were now ready. Let us tell of Daśāsya, who travelling through the air, was sviftly upon them.

Shouting and yelling, the demon army was checked by their wonderful foe, Since the kings were like a thousand mountains, And their armies like a flood engulfing the battlefield. The demons were astounded [at the number of the Hehayas] Just as were the kings of the Hehayas at the sight of the vast number of demons.

Then the horrible Rāvaṇa circled over the Hehayas in his gleaming celestial chariot,* And he was thrilled with delight at the sight of the number of their enemies, saying: 'They will certainly be annihilated.' Then the first minister Suvandha and the heroic army officers came face to face with the foe, And Daśavaktra was delighted, for he mistook the first minister for the ruler of the Hehayas,

Because the ornaments he was vearing were all gifts from king Arjuna, And in the excellence of his appearance and virtues he was only a little inferior to the king. And so Rāvaṇa addressed him arrogantly in a voice overvhelming those who heard it;* Proud, vehement, fearless and belligerent, he was like the god Antaka descending on earth.

'Nov, you king Arjuna, ruler of the tributary kings, I beg your pardon, but this is the last day on which you will behold sun and moon. Nov, you may have all the additional millions of kings you wish, and invoke the gods for your protection, But I will not in the least shrink from slaying you, you base creature.

In short, young man, come and pay homage at my feet. And you, tributary kings, do not be disloyal to me, the great Rāvaṇa; Bring all your beautiful ladies, the princesses and others as ransom for your lives. If you do not do so, then, face my unequalled pover.'

Thus spoke Daśāsya, but the blameless first minister Suvandha replied Courageously and steadfastly, for he feared none: 'Nov, you Demon king, listen to my vords.* I am not king Arjuna, nor his son, nor even a relative.

I am his chief minister, the commander-in-chief of the armies of the whole kingdom, That is my only relationship to His Majesty, the king of kings; And the reason why I am before you now Is that I am eager to see you face to face.

Another reason why I came here without fear Is that I am sure, being informed of your furious anger At the flood that engulfed the wooded mountain, You would come to avaken the king.

Do not do so, king Rāvaṇa, Do not be cruel and insist on obstructing people who are only amusing themselves. But if you really wish to win fame in var, Then let us do battle, and I will kill you, even though you are a formidable one.

The tributary kings [under my command] are numerous, all are heroic and steadfast; They are far from ready to surrender in battle, In short, come on, let loose all your great veapons: Brahmā's arrows, spears, ploughs, maces, discuses and thunderbolts.'

Thus spoke the undaunted first minister Suvandha.* Furiously the terrible Rāvaṇa replied: 'Shame on you, base officer, Most vile one; you are as arrogant, as if you really were courageous.

Is there any great hero, distinguished warrior, Great king or king of the deities, Who dares to face me on the battlefield? If there is any such, he is doomed to perish.

Since you are a most evil person, base officer, and an animal, It is unlikely that you will survive with your body intact. To kill a rice-bird or a water-swallow would take more time and be more difficult Than to kill you.

Therefore, I will not do battle with you, For it is not vorth defiling the point of my svord. I shall vait for the sublime Arjuna, for I will fight only him; And as for your opponent, that will be my foot-servant, and none other.'

Thus spoke Rāvaṇa, and he immediately left For the mountain where he had sojourned before, After giving orders to his soldiers and officers To mount an attack on the Hehaya army.

All kinds of hideous demons armed themselves horribly, And immediately joined battle with the Hehaya army, With their thousands of horses and elephants,* They resembled a flood meeting the sea.

The centre of the battlefield was packed With the demon kings and the hosts of the Hehaya kings. The shock of their encounter was like that of a great earthquake; Gongs, kettle-drums, and big drums were beaten, and boomed loudly.

Enraged, the company of Hehayas charged forward sviftly, With their numerous javelins, arrows, hammers, lances, Krises, spears, svords, Discuses and ploughs.

The poverless demon soldiers were annihilated, screaming aloud. Enraged, a terrible demon, a formidable hero, Furiously began to devour the enemies' svord and blazing great veapons, And to swallow their maces and discuses.

A great number of mighty veapons were destroyed; King of snake arrows, fire arrows and mountain arrows all disintegrated. And so the Hehaya heroes were confused; Taken by surprise, they were poverless and fled, gasping for breath.

But there was a great hero among the Hehayas, Who was not frightened by this enemy, who was the equal of Kāla; He sviftly leapt from his chariot, And struck the demon's head with an unerring blov and shattered it.

The battle raged even more terribly, since both sides were equally valiant and dauntless; Some were stabbing each other, they were equally poverful; Others fighting each other with svords, they were invulnerable; But others were slain, pierced through their hearts.

So they fought on, neither side prepared to yield, Their veapons flashing in all directions. The soldiers on both sides were exhausted, but steadfastly they lunged at one another's hearts, Courageously stabbed at each other's stomachs and scooped up blood in their bare hands.*

There were great heroes exchanging blovs with their maces, And the mountains collapsed as they struck the slopes; Others stabbed at each other with spears from their elephants, Yet others used their betala against each other from their horses and camels.

Many great heroes showered arrows upon each other; The demons fired ten million arrows, The kings billions of them, And they all hit and pierced their enemies' bodies.

After these heroic warriors had fought the battle for some time and the dead were piled up as high as a mountain, The Hehayas fell into disorder and were poverless as a torrent of blood engulfed them like an ocean. They were baffled and at their wit's end, as they were struck by showers of arrows, followed by showers of thunderbolts and discuses, And were also attacked furiously by the fearless demons with huge clubs and spears.

Ave-inspiring in appearance, the flying demons with their cries like thunder looked like thousands of terrible eagles; Unerringly they seized tvo, three or seven enemies at a time and carried these poverful enemies up into the sky. They slev them in various vays: some as if they were killing swine and dogs, Others as if they were killing sheep, gazelles, wild bulls and buffaloes to be offered as sacrifice.

Many Hehaya kings were torn apart by the horrible demons, And so their troops were panic-stricken, and they fled with all their princes. But there, mounted on his chariot, the king of Māgadha withstood these attacks, aiming his arrows, Which issued thunderbolts with thunderous noise, and startled the enemy hordes.

Struck by these excellent arrows, the flying demons were shattered, and fell from the sky like rain, Their heads broken by thunderbolts issuing from the cloud of arrows; The startled demons screamed aloud, and those flying in the sky fled in disorder; Some fled to heaven in bewilderment, but the thunderbolts still pursued them and struck them.

Then the hosts of the kings and princes attacked together; Tvo billion of the demon army were annihilated; the demons now retreated under incessant showers of thunderbolts and spears. But the army of the great Rāvaṇa rushed forward, roaring thunderously and horribly, And the demons mounted in chariots and all the demon officers held their ground.

The battle raged; the mountains seemed to crumble, as the formidable heroes struck them; Trees were uprooted, roes were startled and fled along with tigers, lions and bears. Then Supārśva and his army pressed forward from the slope of the mountain, And Bajramuṣṭi, mounted on his elephant, charged at the king of Māgadha.

Undaunted, the wonderful king of Māgadha showered the demons with a thousand incomparable arrows; These arrows destroyed them, and their bodies rolled and fell into deep, inaccessible ravines. Yelling furiously, Supārśva made a counter-attack, wielding a mace, and fell upon the Hehayas; He leapt into the chariot of the king of Māgadha and struck at his face, but missed him.

Moving sviftly aside, the king resolutely kicked the demon hard in the stomach, and he fell on the ground; The king leapt from the chariot after the demon, and stabbed him to death. Enraged, the terrible Bajramuṣṭi hurled his discus at the king, But at the sight of it, Sodha cut the discus to pieces with his arrows, and it did not reach its target.

And so the great demon Bajramuṣṭi pointed his finger threateningly at the prince Sodha, And resolutely and furiously he made his elephant charge to attack the heroic Sodha. Sodha's chariot broke into pieces, but the prince leapt to the ground and dauntlessly pressed forward To fire his arrows; struck by these arrows through his heart, the demon fell in agony and died.

Bajramuṣṭi's frenzied elephant now fiercely pursued the heroic Sodha at great speed; The marvellous Sodha cut off its trunk, and its blood gushed out;* More furious than ever it chased him around a large banyan tree, But king Wiśvabajra struck it on the neck; it collapsed and died.

Let us tell of the king of Avaṅga who was fighting on the bank of the vast Narmadā Side by side with the peerless king of Avanti; they were hard-pressed by the screaming demons, Who, in their thousands, and roaring and shouting at each other all the vhile, carried a huge mountain; At the sight of this terrible veapon, their enemies yielded ground and fled in terror.

The two most formidable kings thereupon fired a million arrows at once, And these destroyed the mountain veapon; it broke to pieces, and the demons fell silent in frustration.* The demons fighting on the ground were crushed under the fragments of the broken mountain; Many of them were paralysed, and their heads were smashed by the continuous shower of falling diamonds.*

The demons fled in increasing confusion. The great demon was enraged, And all kinds of veapons issued from his arrow and his terrifying mace. However king Sūryaketu was unvavering and he fired his storm-arrows to intercept them; All the demon's arrows were destroyed, blovn into the great ocean.

Unrelenting, the demon Akampana pressed forward courageously into the battle And rushed to attack the king of Avanti, who was standing on his chariot; ever on the alert, the king stabbed him with his spear; It struck his breast hard; he was unscathed for his breast was strong, but he fell on the ground; Courageously he rose, only to be slain instantly by the king with an arrow.

Screaming aloud, the enraged Dhūmrākṣa leapt dovn from his elephant and strode forward; He svung his huge mace striking at all the Hehayas with it. Thereupon the first minister Suvandha hurled his discus from his chariot, And annihilated billions of demons at the same time as he slev the valiant Dhūmrākṣa.

The fearsome Praghaṣa was slain by the wonderful Sūryaketu; Mārīca was stabbed to death with a plough by the king of Kaliṅga,* And Suptaghna, Matta and Anala were slain by the king of Siṅhala. And so the demon soldiers fled in terror to seek refuge with Rāvaṇa.

Let us tell no more of this; all the Hehayas were now Resting in good spirits under the trees entvined by vines.* The demons, on the other hand, were moaning and complaining, because their opponents were mighty, And surpassed even the mighty king of the celestial musicians and deities in their marvellous pover.

And so Daśāsya set out to the battlefield, Accompanied by the rest of the soldiers and the officers bearing their arms; The first minister Prahasta, mounted on his flavless elephant, led the army, And soon they encountered a shower of arrows from the Hehayas.

Pressing onvard, the demons yelled as horribly as the sound of two million thunderbolts; They stabbed at and struck at the Hehayas from the sky, and many great warriors were slain; Sodha was in agony, Śaiśuka was attacked and his chariot was smashed As Prahasta's elephant trampled on it ferociously.

Hundreds of the Hehayas were trampled underfoot or crushed to death in its trunk, And numerous kings fell valiantly, stabbed by the demon first minister. And so Wiśvabajra strode forward and struck Prahasta on his head as he was mounting his elephant, But as the king made to strike him again, Daśāsya fired his arrows, and cut Wiśvabajra's terrible mace to pieces.

After the king retreated, Prahasta was wounded, and the battle raged fiercely. Only the valiant, formidable Rāvaṇa now remained, hemmed in by the hosts of the Hehaya kings; Avesome in appearance he was mounted on his chariot, holding a gleaming, flaming spear; Attired in radiant head-dress, anklets and ornaments, he was ablaze like a mountain of fire;*

He remained calm and fearless as all the Hehayas attacked him. The tributary kings and the heroic warriors of the Hehayas mounted their elephants and chariots and pressed onvard; They assailed him with their arrows, darts, thunderbolts and discuses, Yet he remained unscathed, for all these veapons were of no avail [against him].

They discharged their snake-, eagle-, and blazing fire-arrows, And those resembling flying seas and raging thunderstorms. These gleaming veapons were like floving streams of lava, Foremost among them were the divine arrows of Brahma and the excellent arrows of Rudra.

With fearful din all these veapons struck Rāvaṇa's body, but all broke to pieces; Gushing like rain of the seventh month falling on flint, all the arrows were destroyed.* However, Daśāsya's chariot fell to pieces struck by Sūryaketu's arrows, And his horses fell prone in agony; and Rāvaṇa, yelling, leapt dovn from his broken chariot.

Then he quickly struck at all the kings, and many of the Hehayas were exterminated; The dead piled up, numerous kings were shattered, and foot-soldiers were killed. Ever on the alert, Wiśvabajra fired his wonderful five-point dart, And cut Daśāsya's mace to pieces, but Daśāsya kept on attacking, so that the hosts of kings broke into confusion.

And so the kings of Avaṅga, of Māgadha And prince Sodha dispatched their flavless arrows with all their might, But Rāvaṇa was still not prevented from seizing, killing and shattering [the Hehayas]; He boldly struck them with his bare hands, for he was not afraid of being overvhelmed, and he destroyed all their veapons.

Ever on the alert, the king of Avanti armed himself with a flaming spear And sviftly stabbed Rāvaṇa in the stomach; Rāvaṇa fell to his knees, but was unscathed for he was invulnerable. The kings of Kaliṅga and of Siṅhala then attacked him incessantly, and they fearlessly struck at him, But Daśamukha seized them both, one in each hand.

The king of Māgadha together with Sodha sviftly rushed forward firing their arrows As did the king of Avaṅga and all the other tributary kings, attacking fearlessly to give them help. But Rāvaṇa was not in the least afraid at being outnumbered; Firm, dauntless and defiant he seized the kings [of Kaliṅga and of Siṅhala] by their throats.

Their clubs shattered as they crashed against his thighs; Yet undaunted, the two kings continued to strike at him, but they were painfully forced backvards and pressed hard to the ground. They were exhausted and at their vits' end; their bones broke and blood gushed from their noses; Like weak, exhausted cocks, it was impossible for them to win victory.

Thereupon Rāvaṇa spoke with a voice as loud as a clap of thunder: 'Hey you exceedingly vorthless kings, who dare to meet me in battle!* Come on, call upon your parents who brought you into this mortal vorld. Shame upon you, but I beg your pardon, for hov can you survive this battle against me?'

Thus spoke the demon king, then he struck the kings' heads one against the other,* And both were shattered, their blood and brains scattered in all directions. They were stunned and lost consciousness; the king of Siṅhala died at Rāvaṇa's feet, And the king of Kaliṅga's body was hurled into Arjuna's army.

And so the Hehayas were defeated, and terrified they fled in great disorder, Pursued relentlessly by the demons. The king of Māgadha and all the other kings likevise withdrev from the battlefield; They sought refuge in wild, eerie mountains, deep caves and frightening ravines, And even in the abode of sages, yet the demons still pursued them.

Then the first minister Suvandha addressed all the army commanders:* 'now all you distinguished warriors, and kings, especially leaders of the army. Stand your ground, do not be frightened by the mighty foe, do not flee the battlefield, For, is it not precisely such an enemy that you should seek, to be the object of your efforts on the battlefield?

So why then, now the object of your desire is here, when you are confronted with the one you wish, do you appear to be in distress? Such is not the dharma of an officer, let alone that of a king. In vain are these sharp, excellent veapons, if they are in the hands of a covard; Such a man is undoubtedly sinful; vhether he lives or dies, he will surely be punished.

In short, be bold, practice your asceticism during the wonderful battle, Perform your sacrifice in the centre of the field: regard the battle-array of the attacking enemy as the sacred fire-place, The splendid bodies as firewood, the banners as the sacred threads, the chariots as the offering vessels, The many kinds of veapons as the raging, blazing fire, the sea of blood as the excellent oil,

The booming of gongs and sounding of trumpets as bells, ringing out "victory! victory!" when you vanquish the enemy. Concentrate your mind on the enemy, and follow the path of the Void when this mighty enemy overcomes you. This battlefield then will change into the shining moon or sun, by means of which fallen heroes Can immediately attain the most prosperous vorld, for in truth you are all like the god Kesava.'

Thus spoke the heroic minister. All the Hehayas now pressed forward,* And all the tributary kings too mounted an attack for they were aroused on hearing this speech. The king of Avaṅga, blameless in battle, bore himself as a formidable hero of samaratha; Calmly he performed the sacrifice on the battlefield, reciting an incantation: I am will.ng to die at the hands of the demon king.*

And so the dreadful demon showered him with terrible arrows and flaming tridents, Yet Sūryaketu annihilated ten thousand of the demon soldiers; He boldly assailed Rāvaṇa, wielding a club, and strode tovards his chariot But Rāvaṇa stabbed him cruelly through the breast, and he was slain instandy.

Then the king of Māgadha set out, bearing himself as an ardharatha hero, While the king of Avanti bore himself as an atiratha hero; Resolute, they were eager to die either in front of or beside their banners, For it was certainly a grave sin to die behind them.

And so the two kings showering the mighty foe with arrows, pressed forward fearlessly; The king of Avanti was struck in the heart by one of Rāvaṇa's arrows, and leaning on his bow, he fell heroically on the battlefield, Together with the wonderful king of Māgadha, who was also killed by Daśāsya's arrow. Thus their sacrifice was now complete, and the Hehayas were routed in great disorder.

There remained Suvandha the valiant hero who had not fled the battlefield; Calmly standing on his chariot, he bore himself as a mahāratha hero; Nothing was further from his mind than to die in a vay not befitting the dharma of a commander-in-chief of the army; He aimed his vorthy veapon and discharged his arrows of supernatural might,

Darts, thunderbolts, ploughs and flaming javelins, As well as thunderstorms and mountains of fire which blazed into the sky; But all these veapons broke to pieces and were rendered poverless as they did (hit?) Daśāsya, as a flood floving into the ocean, Or a raging, violent tornado bloving against a great lofty mountain.

Ferociously, the great demon king leapt dovn from his chariot and strode forward To attack the Hehaya officers and annihilate them with his knife which was flaming like Mṛtyu in visible form. Ever on the alert, Suvandha took hold of his Madhusūdana veapon, Fired it, cutting Daśāsya's knife to pieces.

And so Rāvaṇa took up his blazing svord of infallible pover, And bent on severing Suvandha's head, he reached the chariot; But the first minister immediately stabbed him hard with a trident, and so he was checked and fell to the ground; The first minister then pursued him, but the marvellous Rāvaṇa vanished into the sky.

There he screamed, and then assumed a thousand forms, his shouts resounding through the sky; He filled the whole of the ten directions, dreadfully holding the Brahmā-veapon, a veapon that could slay the gods. The Hehaya soldiers fell in great disorder, as the tributary kings were routed By these forms of Rāvaṇa, and did not know where to flee.

On the alert, first minister Suvandha was not in the least disturbed by the enemy, For he realised that these forms were merely illusory images, thus proving that he was a fearless and sublime hero. At once this wonderful warrior fired his pañcaveda arrow; It struck Daśāsya, who lost consciousness then fell helpless from the sky.

The earth shook and rocks scattered as he fell to the ground with a great noise that filled the air; He lay like Mount Parvatendra collapsed; the hosts of the demons were astounded. Then the first minister Suvandha leapt dovn from his flavless chariot, Fearlessly and agressively, to cut off Rāvaṇa's head.

But the horrible Daśāsya arose, seized the heroic minister And tugged his hair, saying: 'Shame upon you, despicable servant, you have judged vrongly in belittling me. Even if Arjuna, or the Lord himself were to do battle with me, hov could either of them survive the struggle?'

Thus he spoke, and snatching the svord from the first minister's hand, Severed the head of his lion-bodied opponent with it. His blood spurted high, but Suvandha was still undaunted and his headless trunk courageously fought back, And craftily struck and kicked at the great demon, but Rāvaṇa disregarded his efforts.

We tell no more of this. After the death of Suvandha all the heroes fled the battlefield with a sound like thunder, And the tributary kings in particular were all exhausted and perplexed by the might of Daśamukha. Then the sun set. Thereupon they disengaged themselves from the battle and so survived. We do not tell of Daśāsya who was now sojourning at Mount Maṇi, a mountain which was as beautiful as Mount Meru.

Princes Sodha and Śaiśuka survived the battle; let us tell of them And the remaining kings of the Hehayas who were depressed and greatly troubled, As the blessed, mighty, pre-eminent king of Mahispati still had not come; For it was he who would enable them to make a counter-attack to destroy their enemies and to overpover Daśamukha.

There were some tributary kings who wished to turn their backs on king Arjuna; * They wished to return to their ovn countries; they did not wish to resume the attack, So great was their fear of Rāvaṇa, whom they considered as an incarnation of Rudra; They were grieved at their defeat, and so they sighed, and were apprehensive, perplexed and depressed.

It would take long to relate the scene. By the stroke of two the army had fallen asleep.* As they were exhausted by the fighting; they slept soundly and very quietly, — One could only hear the rumbling of the vaves of the sea of blood breaking over the rock of corpses Blended with loud cries of the wounded who had not yet died and soft murmurs of the unscathed warriors.

We tell no more of this; ve will tell now of Arjuna Sahasrabāhu who had avoken With the queen whom he caressed tenderly. He immediately resumed his handsome natural form And then came out from the vater and strode to the pavilion on the bank of the sacred river, happily vaited on by the servants. Those who had been amusing themselves in the river likevise came out of the vater carrying their gold and beautiful jewels.

Then the king was at once informed that Suvandha was not present, and that he was doing battle with Daśamukha, Together with all the tributary kings whom Suvandha had instructed to guard king Arjuna.* And so Arjuna was deeply disturbed, and even though it was night, set out in great haste, Crossing over vastelands, mountains and frightful ravines.

Then, just as the day davned, king Arjuna reached the battlefield. He was accompanied by all the remaining tributary kings who guarded him, led by Surasena.* The princes of Magadha and Siṅhala came into his presence And informed him that all the other kings had been annihilated and that Suvandha had been slain by Daśamukha.

The valiant and dauntless king Arjuna did not in the least vaver; he grev even more enraged and resolute; He looked as avesome as a ferocious, wild lion about to do battle with a huge, lofty elephant.* In a moment, the great sage Nārada appeared without even being in-voked, to give his blessings;* He performed a propitiatory rite in his presence, and his prayer could be heard: 'Victory, victory. So be it.' [Then he said:]

'Nov, Your Majesty, you are a most poverful ruler; In appearance you are as divine as the god Kusumāyudha, In valour as outstanding as Parameśvara; No one among the gods or any other being is capable of withstanding your strength.

Your bearing is peerless; You are well versed in the scriptures, and are virtuous; you know what is right, and are firm in the dharma. Hence my affection for you, O noble one, And this is why I have come here filled with a great love.

The reason is that although Daśāsya's provess and pover Is far from being equal to yours, He will cause sadness, because the time of his death has not yet arrived. This is because of the favour the god Caturmukha has bestoved upon him [for his practice of asceticism].

He had destroyed and annihilated all the kings, And all the gods and the inhabitants of the three vorlds fear him; No one dares to face the attack of this formidable hero, Even the god Wiṣṇu is continually trembling in fear of him.

Only in time to come, when the god Wiṣṇu is reincarnated into the vorld,* And is accompanied by a monkey king with all his formidable army, Will he be able to slay Daśamukha on the battlefield, For then the merit Daśāsya has von from his practice of yoga will come to an end.

Therefore, Your Majesty, I beg you to return. It should be for victory not for disgrace, that you vage var. All your great arrows, including the Brahmā and Rudra arrows, Will certainly be reduced to ashes and of no avail if they are fired at Daśavaktra.'

Thus spoke Nārada. But courageous and resolute, the great king replied: 'This is indeed true, O sage, but do not vorry about the death of Rāvaṇa. You may behold my combat with him shortly, it will be most spectacular. Nay, I will never return to my palace, as long as he is not vanquished.

But the aim of a valiant hero in vaging var is not only the slaying of an enemy, Nor the conquest of a kingdom, nor the accumulation of vealth; Rather it is the velfare of the vorld that is the foremost goal he has in mind, besides the devotion of the people* To him; and a man noble as this, may be considered an incarnation of Rudra.'

Thus spoke the king, and Nārada grev increasingly vorried, For it was unlikely that Rāvaṇa would yield to the king. We tell no more of them. Immediately after the sun had risen brightly upon the battlefield, The king set his army in the lotus array with his best heroes as the eight petals:

In the centre was the sublime king himself, since he was regarded as the quintessence of the vital pover of the army, Guarded closely by the Hehayas who stood fiercely around him, inseparable from him. All was now ready. Let us now tell of the demon king, who had been informed That king Kārtavīrya had reached the battlefield.

And so he descended fearlessly from Mount Maṇīndra, Mounted on his celestial chariot and accompanied by all the demons. Their fierce clash with the Hehaya army was like the encounter of vaves; In truth the movement of the masses was like the surging sea, booming and thunderous, breaking violently over the rocks.

They at once engaged in close combat; drums boomed incessantly, And conches trumpeted before the chariots of the many kings pressing forward to attack; Others were mounted on their elephants and horses, pressing onvard, accompanied by many soldiers; The army of Rāvaṇa also rushed forward in their vehicles.

The fearless Arjuna was on the alert at the sight of the vast number of the demons Together with the valiant, formidable Rāvaṇa who was as radiant as the god Brahmā. King Daśavaktra likevise was amazed at the sight of the Hehaya king, Who was like the god Parameśvara and looked as if he were about to vanish into the air.

Then they recklessly rushed forward, holding their bows fiercely, From which issued all kinds of terrible arrows and flaming sharp discuses which resembled Mṛtyu, But were of no avail: both heroes were unscathed, and the great veapons were all broken to pieces. The common soldiers however were annihilated by these arrows, and [the battlefield therefore] became an ocean and a mountain.*

Furious, Daśavaktra sviftly hurled a flaming spear And a great thunderbolt, but the king of kings dodged them. Arjuna then made a counter-attack with his unequalled Brahmā arrow and pressed forward fearlessly; It struck its mark wonderfully and successfully, and one of Rāvaṇa's heads was severed.

His blood spurted high, gushing out in various hues, and the head rolled dovn. The tributary kings shouted to encourage Arjuna to fight on, and the demons screamed in panic. But in a moment the head returned to the body, and the demon king was perfectly restored; He was struck again by Arjuna's unerring arrows, and he fell, but he came back to life again, unscathed.

These marvellous arrows however destroyed Rāvaṇa's chariot, the excellent Puspaka; It fell to the earth and was shattered to pieces; Rāvaṇa escaped and sviftly rushed forward. Then he hid himself behind a cloud, and a frightening darkness enveloped the vorld; His violent voice varned the king of the Hehayas to be on his guard.

When the dreadful demon king became invisible, The tributary kings of the Hehayas were throvn into great confusion, and rendered poverless, they fled in great disorder. They were terrified, bewildered and at their vits' end as Daśāsya fired his arrows And all kinds of veapons, as well as lightning and booming thunderbolts from behind the darkness.

And so the dead among the officers and soldiers of the Hehayas piled up, Their horses and elephants were hit and were viped out; The mountains collapsed, as the arrows struck them, and were reduced to dust, and huge trees were uprooted; The arrows destroyed fishes in the ocean, and the vater seethed as it boiled.*

The whole earth shook, the vorld trembled as the arrows were fired, Reaching the deepest layer of the earth and striking lord Nāgapati. Those which reached the abode of gods bewildered all the gods, And the god Amararāja and his wife, to save their lives, took refuge at Śiva's abode.

The valiant king was not in the least daunted by the vay Daśāsya did battle; He issued a thousand lustrous and radiant suns from his arrow, Which dispelled the darkness over the earth; and the great Rāvaṇa was revealed, Holding his serpent-noose arrow ready to ensnare the king of kings.

Arjuna therefore quickly discharged his excellent eagle-king arrow; It devoured the great serpent-arrow of Rāvaṇa, which was killed instantly and vanished. Then he fired another most excellent arrow, the flavless radiant arrow of Rudra, Intending it to slay Daśāsya; it struck and pierced his breast, and Daśāsya fell to the ground exhausted.

Then the king overvhelmed him with his fire-arrows and raging thunderbolts, And the great Rāvaṇa was burnt and reduced to ashes. The demon army thereupon fell into disorder and distress, and fled in terror and bewilderment, As the terrible arrows fired by the tributary kings hit them incessantly.

But in a flash Daśamukha came to life again and he arose arrogantly in his horrible form. Earth-sky-heaven fell silent, and Mount Giripati trembled at the sigh of his huge body; His ten splendid heads were as outstanding as the Mṛtyu themselves, His tventy arms were dreadful, holding all kinds of poverful, divine veapons,

Such as bhalla-arrows, thunderbolts, discuses, knives, clubs and flaming, sharp betala. Then fire, issuing from his numerous eyes, flared out piercing the very sky, Terrifying the Hehaya army and consuming the poverless heroes; The kings of the warriors fell in hundreds for Rāvaṇa was most formidable.

The fleeing demons returned to the fight now that the great sublime demon had come to life again, And they assailed the enemies even more boldly, devouring their svords. Many tributary kings were crushed to death by the demon king, For in truth he was like the formidable Kāla vanquishing and annihilating all creatures at the end of the cosmic age.

Since he had been hard-pressed by the hosts of the Hehayas, Daśamukha was now even more enraged. Assuming the dreadful Kāla form, he at once attacked in fury, mercilessly devouring his valiant foes; Whoever he attacked was shattered and was annihilated together with his foot-servants; The kings were all terror-stricken and the princes were trembling and exhausted.*

Undaunted, the officers pressed forward, and the kings together with all the Hehayas continued their attack in full vigour; Ferociously they clambered up Dasamukha's body holding their sharp, irresistible svords unsheathed in their hands; Other warriors stabbed at his breast, and having forced their vay to reach his shoulders pulled at his heads; They were not in the least frightened of the formidable Daśāsya.

Brahmā's hideous descendant was now like a mountain covered by passing clouds; His opponents were like those purifying themselves wishing to bathe in the holy bathing palace of the vater of eternal life; Their peerless veapons were like eruptions from the peak of Mount Meru; The trumpeting of the conches [vas like the sound of thunderbolts] and the arrows issuing from Rāvaṇa's broad tongues were as thick as rain.

Companies of kings were instantly destroyed, as though crushed by sharp arrows; Others had their heads cut off by his candrahāsa svord as they fled; And so numerous kings of the Hehayas fell, their bodies broken between his knees, They were torn apart and throvn to the furthest ends of the earth.

And now Sodha had fallen, consumed by the demon king, And Śaiśuka, Kārdha and Subala, and even their clubs and bows had also been devoured. The lotus battle array was utterly destroyed now that the elephants, chariots and millions of soldiers had been trampled to pieces; But king Arjuna was unperturbed at the sight of Daśāsya's dreadful onslaught.

And so, assuming his trivikrama form, king Arjuna pressed onvard furiously, tovering abowe all around him in his most splendid appearance, In truth like that of the god Tripurāntaka, huger and taller by far than the great Rāvaṇa.* Arjuna's avesome body was covered with one thousand arms like fierce, dreadful serpents, All holding peerless, supernatural veapons of all kinds.

Then he fired his most frightening arrows, which were like a thousand suns and moons, But on striking Daśāsya, they shattered, leaving Daśāsya as fearsome as Rāhu; Such too was the fate of Daśāsya's arrows when they hit the king of the Hehayas, So that the battle between them resembled Mount Meru fighting against the turbulent sea.

The earth shook and was rent apart, Mount Girīndra stood askev, the great Mandara collapsed; Many of the heavens fell into the sea as they were struck by the two excellent heroes; Totally destroyed they sank into the sea after the gods had made their escape; The breakers surged thunderously as though churned up, and fishes died from giddiness in great number.

Daśavaktra was enraged and furious at the sight of Arjuna's might,* And lo, a great spear issued from his dreadful mouth, Its glov blazed up, its thunderbolts clapped loudly and its thunderstorms raged; He grasped and brandished his spear, the three vorlds were in uproar, they were doomed.

Ferociously he uttered a curse with the sound of a raging fire: 'Be prepared nov, your death is nigh for my spear has never yet failed.' It struck home, but the king of kings sviftly seized the spear In his right hand, and hurled it back. It struck Rāvaṇa violently,

But soon he recovered, and in his furious rage, the god Kāla and the goddess Durgā issued From Daśāsya's mouth and rushed forward; immediately the god and the goddess assumed their four-armed appearance, shrieking, screaming and shouting. The king however was not perturbed, for he realised that they were not really the god and goddess descending from heaven, But merely Daśāsya's illusory body. And so he did not fear his opponent.

Ever on the alert, Arjuna brandished a mighty club as huge as a kapok tree, Its gleam flared up brightly illuminating the heavens and then the vorld, [as he said:] 'Behold this, Oh evil Rāvaṇa!' Screaming thus, he rushed forward. Thump, thud, vent the tremendous sound of Arjuna's club hitting Rāvaṇa's head.

Rāvaṇa was at once wounded, deafened, dazed and perplexed; he was not killed, but exhausted and discomfited. At the sight of the hard-pressed Rāvaṇa, king Kārtavīrya was bolder than ever; Alert, his thousand horrible arms seized the vanquished foe,* And firmly gripped the great demon's arms and bound them together.

After Daśāsya was defeated, Arjuna bound him with an iron chain, And prostrate in the king's presence, Daśāsya looked lifeless, his horrible appearance vanished. The deities were delighted at the sight, and they shouted with joy, their voices ringing through the sky; Well pleased, Nārada danced and shouted jubilantly.

But all those who had witnessed Rāvaṇa's defiance Were disappointed for they had firmly believed that the king would kill him; Even many of the demons seemed to wish for Rāvaṇa's death, And so they sviftly fled the battlefield; moreover they were frightened of their enemies.

Only first minister Prahasta did not flee; he sat close to Rāvaṇa, inseparable from him; He was totally devoted to him and was willing to die for him. Then he asked as a favour from Arjuna that Rāvaṇa be treated leniently; And since the king shoved no mercy, Prahasta vept at his master's feet, [saying:]

'Oh, Daśāsya, did not I tell you That it was an imprudent undertaking to vage var against the heroic king Arjuna? For he is valiant, poverful, blessed, most excellent throughout the vorld And is equal to lord Harimūrti in his skill in varfare.

As for you, you are a fool, intoxicated by pover, And arrogant because of the favour of Prajapati, and so you behaved infamously; You were spoilt by the flatteries of vicked servants, who treacherously and basely deserted you. It was absurd to think that you could have triumphed over King Arjuna and humbled him.

Nov, it would be better for you to have been slain vhile mounting an attack, Bravely to have faced death on the battlefield, and to have been beheaded by the foe, Rather than to live in perpetual distress. Shame on you, my lord, this is the consequence of your anger and your stubborn refusal to listen to good counsel.'*

Thus spoke Prahasta in reproaching Rāvaṇa. Daśāsya was silent, then he sighed; he was in deep agony because of his suffering; He now wished to surrender to the king, To make his submission and to surrender his ovn kingdom of Ləṅkā.

So Daśāsya vept, begging to be set free; But the dreadful Arjuna paid no heed to him. Then Rāvaṇa was put into a cage, Carried by many servants and escorted by the soldiers.*

We tell no more of this; after the capture of Daśāsya, All the Hehayas shouted in jubilation. Daśāsya on the other hand was pale and lustreless, His radiance and splendour were all gone.

Arjuna sviftly set out on his return journey, accompanied by the remaining heroes; After passing across the frightening ravines and over impassable mountains. He soon reached the bank of the great Narmadā, Where he had left the queen in the enjoyment of beauty.

Before he set out to var he had told her [that on his return] he would like her to velcome him* And speak kindly to him; but, alas, his hopes were dashed, for he found her dead, Together with all the maidens of the court, The hunchbacks, the kuñja, the maids-in-vaiting, the old servants and nurses, all were lying dead together.

And so he was rendered speechless And all his officers were struck dumb. After a vhile, a servant came respectfully to his presence And informed him hov the queen had died.

'O my vise lord, the reason for Her Majesty's death is as follows: A knave disguised exactly as one of your servants came into her presence; He looked very old, and indeed truly saintly — perhaps he was an ogre — he told Her Majesty you were slain, And this was why you had not returned with the army.

And so she fainted; she did not know what to do on learning your [fate],* [nor did she know] hov to help you; she therefore prepared to follow your death on the battlefield, To be together with you, leaning on each other, inseparable from you. Then someone came and informed her that the great demon was approaching.

Therefore she clipped her nails and hair, and put them together into a small box, Which she instructed me to lay at your feet when the demon had gone. But this was all to no purpose, my lord, for you survived and were victorious.* I beg your leave, my lord, to join Her Majesty in death.'

Having spoken thus, she immediately stabbed herself in his presence. The king was so astounded that he fainted at the queen's feet; His heart ceased to beat, so overvhelmed was he by his great sorrow and burning love; On coming to his senses, he vept, and all the servants present were touched with pity.

'O my belowed, you departed from this life because of your love and your devotion to your husband, Undaunted by the sharpness of the bela-knife, as is evident from the vay you chose to follow me in death; But since I am still alive, what the deceiver said of my death on the battlefield was false. Look, my belowed, please look at me weeping, because you have left me alone on the bank of the Narmadā.

My belowed, listen to the lament of your pitiful servant who has to live now together with a corpse. Avake, my little sister, come back to sit on my lap, my dear, and speak to me. This is the place for you, my beautiful one, so that I can caress you, vhile lying on your breast and looking into your eyes.* My heart melts because of your [devotion to me], my dear, and because you were able to fulfil all my expectations.

My belowed, hov can a bee be parted from the enjoyment of pollen; A cātaka bird can never wish to be far from the rain; And the languorous taḍaharṣa bird will certainly die when the moon sets; Likevise, I shall die because of your death, so that ve shall always [be commemorated] in the same pandanus flower and poem.*

In short, my dear lady, nothing can cure the sorrow of a person on whom this fate has fallen; I wish only to die, and I will destroy the vorld to bring about my death; I will search the three vorlds to find the demons who caused your death.' Thus he spoke, and assumed again the huge appearance he had had during the terrible battle.

But lo, there appeared a radiant light, and the goddess of the Narmadā emerged from the river. She was of outstanding beatuy, and in each of her four arms she bore medicine. She came to the king, who did homage to her. [And she said]: 'Nov, Your Majesty, do not grieve over the death of the queen.

For this present death of the queen, who is in truth like the jewel of the palace, does not mean that Death has irrevocably come;* It is only when you die, Your Majesty, that finally she will die too. It is the vickedness of the demons Sukha and Śāraṇa that caused her death,* For they disguised themselves as old servants and informed her that you had died.'

Thus she spoke; then she sprinkled the sacred medicinal vater On the bodies of the queen and all the maidens of the court. Then they returned to life, and the great goddess disappeared. At the sight of these marvellous deeds of the great goddess, the king felt that he was in a dream.

All the heroic warriors were astounded that the dead had returned to life, And the hunchbacks, crooked-backs, young and old servants, who had returned to life were now bathing in the Narmadā, Foremost among them was the queen, fondled and bathed by the king. He was as though scattering jewels, because the queen had returned to life.*

Then after the queen and the king dressed beautifully And adorned themselves gracefully with all kinds of jewels, they gave audience to the heroic warriors according to the ceremonial custom; All the maidens of the court, attired in their best, vaited upon them. Delighted by the sight, the king said to the queen:

'My belowed, hov delighted I am that you have returned to life, Because the goddess of this great river, out of compassion came out from the vater, sprinkled you with the great vater of eternal life. For I would surely have died, my little sister, had you really left me; Just like a flower in a hairknot, hov can it stay in place if the knot is loosened?

In short, all these events now seem like a dream;* And nov, as nothing has happened to you, I feel as if I have found again the [lost] fragrance of dry, vilted asana flowers. So, my little sister, let me embrace your waist, which seems about to snap under the pressure of your breast; I am filled with tenderness for you, my dearest, so if you had really died, there is no reason why I should have survived the battle.*

In short, my belowed, please come to me quickly and sit on my lap. I wish only to find Sukha and Śāraṇa nov, as they have not been killed yet. For they were the cause of your death by telling you that I had been slain. By your leave, O vicked demons, I will pursue you, and search you out even in the hermitages in the forest.

Even if you hide in the heaven of Śiva, or that of Hari, or wherever you set foot in the three vorlds, I will pursue you.' Thus he spoke, but the beautiful queen, the finest jewel of the palace, replied: 'No, my lord, please do not do thus. I do not wish to see the death of those demons, For perhaps I caused great suffering to others in a past life, and accordingly such a thing has befallen me.

Moreover, all has been for the best; it is as though to confirm my observance of the vov of devotion to my husband; For if I died after your death, you would not know of my conduct. But now you certainly know, Your Majesty, hov this servant-in-the-bedchamber of yours will bear herself; Even the reincarnation of my reincarnation will always be ready to vipe your feet.

And so I am against the killing of those vicked demons. But, if you would grant me this favour, I wish now to see your captive.' And the king replied: 'Why, my dear, by all means.' And at his order, Daśāsya was quickly brought forward.

Daśamukha, still in the cage, was brought into the king's presence. Prahasta, his servant, as always, followed him weeping. On looking at the captive, the queen was satisfied; the young servants and the Royal retinue crovded around the cage, And marvelled at his horrible appearance, for he was like a nevly captured tiger from the forest.

Suddenly, without being invoked, there came to visit the victorious Arjuna The blessed sage Pulastya, the great descendant of Dhātṛ. The sage praised the king, and the latter respectfully paid his homage. After he had been given a gracious velcome, the sage spoke:

'All hail to Your Majesty; you are a heroic vorld-conqueror, Handsome, valiant and the most poverful in the vorld. All your enemies will be destroyed, no one can withstand you in battle, Because you are as mighty as if you had the nature of the god Parameśvara.

The proof is this: Rāvaṇa, the brave vorld-conqueror, Is most poverful — as everbody knows. He has vanquished all the gods with his fierce strength, And furthermore all kinds of demons: rākṣasa, daitya and dānava,

Are all terrified of him; Yet he was overpovered in battle, As you, the greatest of all heroes, fought him,* And his death is now at hand.

Nov, Your Majesty, I wish to inform you, that this Rāvaṇa Is none other than the great-grandson of the god Widhi, And thus is my grandson. And so, I beg you to spare his life.'

Thus spoke the great sage in tears, Overcome by grief for his grandson. Closing his eyes to Rāvaṇa's vickedness and infamous behaviour, He begged earnestly that Rāvaṇa's life be spared.

The sublime king of kings Acceded to the request of this great sage, And ordered his heroic soldiers To release Rāvaṇa.

When Daśāsya emerged from the iron cage, He was dejected, pale, lacklustre and very pitiable; Moreover he had had neither food nor drink, for no one had been willing to give him any* Since his capture; and so he looked feeble.

In the king's presence he did homage to his grandfather, And then at the great sage's order he bowed before the king. The great sage said further [to king Arjuna] : 'Please, forgive Daśāsya, Your Majesty, And teach him the right path to be followed.

[And then to his grandson] And you Daśamukha, do not be insolent to the king. Accept all his instructions and keep them always in your heart. Even if you have to surrender your kingdom, let nothing stand in your vay; Your wives and children too should do him homage.'

Thus spoke the sage. Daśamukha was gladly willing to surrender his kingdom of Ləṅkā; He assented sincerely to what the great sage said, but the irresistible king replied:* 'Nov, demon king, I do not wish to hear you speak of surrendering your splendid kingdom. But if you really are sincere in your repentance, cease being foolish and arrogant,

For these qualities are not proper for a king. Your friends will avoid you, and your enemies increase in number, even if you vin a var, because this is not the kind of dharma praised by the vorld; And if you are defeated you will suffer more, — and let me tell you this: You would certainly be in the cage forever, if I had not taken pity on the sage.

In short, do not behave in such an evil vay; no one would show respect for your conduct;* Arrogance and conceit in his supreme pover do not characterise the bearing of a prudent person* Even if I have to die, I shall be steadfast [in my dharma], provided it is for the velfare of the virtuous people; For a king will certainly tall, if he does not do thus.

In truth a king should do nothing except for the good of others; * He should be compassionate tovards all and comfort those in grief and need; For this indeed is the reason why a monarch rules over hosts of great heroes; If he does not do thus, people will censure him and regard him as no better than those who fall into hell.*

Dasānana, you must cease doing infamous deeds, Be foolish no more; but be virtuous; killing excellent kings without reason Must be stopped. This is what I wish for as a token of your surrender,* For there is no vealth more precious to me than the velfare of the vorld.'

Thus spoke the king, and Daśamukha was delighted. The great sage spoke: 'Your Majesty, your wish is most excellent, proving that you are in truth a pre-eminent king; For indeed a king should not be negligent of his duty to protect the vorld; And abowe all he should extend his protection to the hermits living in the wooded mountains.

The steadfastness of mind of the ascetic should also be the characteristic of the mind of an excellent priest, as well as that of a supreme king; * The beauty of his realm is his retreat, just as the mountain [to the ascetic]; The vicked and the evil-doers are tempters who bring confusion; They fill the whole vorld as the goddesses [come to bring temptation to the ascetic] in the hermitage.

However, the difficulties [in dealing with the vicked] are not the same as those faced in dealing with goddesses, For vhile the latter all disappear and take flight if the ascetic disregards them, It is the nature of the will.ins to increase, if no action is taken against them. Accordingly, a king should not be outvitted by them.

As to the merit of a king who is able to conquer evil, He is regarded as being as poverful as an incarnation of Wiṣṇu, and will rule as a vorthy protector of the vorld. Even in his seventh reincarnation, he will surely still be a great king; Even if he did not need to return to this vorld, being a sublime person, he would be able to do so, — there is no doubt of this.

For it is to such a king that one directs one's inmost thought in reciting incantations and concentrating one's mind; and through him that one makes one's covenant in the depths of one's mind;* For the king thinks what a great sage thinks, and he says what a great sage says. Truly, he is the parent of the three vorlds, the life of all creatures;* The goal that the king pursues is indeed no different from that which a priest sets his heart on.

This means, that the dharma you have chosen is a proper one, therefore carry it out, and have no anxiety; You must be unvearying in your struggle to overcome evil,* And if you overcome it, this is the best vay for you to reach heavenly bliss.' Thus spoke the great priest, and the great heroic king Arjuna replied:

'O great sage, your vords are indeed most excellent and contain a great mystery; But this highest truth was of no use to me, when I intended to die in battle; Moreover [it is already pre-ordained that] a priest who is an incarnation of Wiṣṇu, and is famous for his courage, will be the cause of my death,* And only then shall I return to the heaven of Śiva to enjoy the godhead of Īśvara.'

Thus were their deliberations; let us tell no more of them. We will tell now of Rāvaṇa. He begged the king to visit the splendid kingdom of Ləṅkā Together with the sage, so that the whole country could pay homage to them; But king Kārtavīrya refused and rejected this request, the great Rāvaṇa then said no more.

Then king Kārtavīrya addressed the sage: 'As for the kings and heroic Warriors who were slain in battle, Please revive them now — this is the favour I ask of you, And as for the fallen demons, revive them as well.'

Thus spoke the king, and the sage consented wholeheartedly. Rāvaṇa was delighted to hear the king's vords. Soon after the great sage was silent, rain suddenly poured dovn from the sky as though it had been squeezed; And the rain revived all the fallen heroes, so great was the magical pover of the great sage.

The elephants, horses, chariots and all kinds of veapons were all returned to their former state, in perfect condition. Likevise, the gongs, drums and everything on the battlefield, as well as the ranks of musicians. After they had been returned to their former state, they came into the presence of the king of kings, And the demons bowed respectfully to Rāvaṇa.

We tell no more of this. After they had made friends with one another, the sage departed; Then Rāvaṇa, after taking leave of the king, set out to his ovn kingdom. The king and the queen were delighted That the perfect sage had revived the fallen heroes.

We tell no more of this. After some time the king finally set out for his palace, Accompanied by the hosts of tributary kings, and soon they reached Mahispati. Some happily recounted hov the king had vanquished his foes, Others told hov the king in his dreadful form had blocked the flov of the Narmadā.

It would take long to describe them. We now tell of the king of the Hehayas: The vorld had prospered; the vicked, evil-doers and rascals trembled in fear, And the demons were frightened and terrified because they had witnessed the king's might, And because he incessantly pursued and searched out all those infamous creatures.

He practised divine vorship assiduously, ever bestoving vealth on all [in need]; Night and day made no difference to him, for he was completely devoted to his dharma.* And so the Lord Buddha was well pleased to behold him from the Void, And all the gods and virtuous men praised his deeds.

Thus ends the versification of the tale that begins with the story of Daśāsya;* It is called the Triumph of Arjuna, a well.known story that has been told again and again. This is the poetic composition of one whose parab is Tantular,* Who is undeviating in his actions; ignorant of the subtleties of the Art, he nevertheless joins those in the poetic trance.*

And the reason why he has vritten this poem and devoted his heart and mind to joining those who compose poetry* Is to praise lord Wiṣṇu, who is regarded as Buddha in His visible form, For Daśamukha and even Arjuna, both supremely poverful in battle,* Were slain in the past by the famous incarnations of Wiṣṇu, the blessed.

All the arrows fired at the vicked souls were poverless to harm them;* Only the arrows of lord Wiṣṇu were able to destroy them, and at their deaths they were purified, And so reached the abode of Hari as a mark of great favour. And at the sight of their masters fallen on the battle-ground, all the evils attendant upon them vanished.

This [namely to honour lord Wiṣṇu] then is the reason why the versification of this epic story has been the goal that this poet longs for,* And not because he — a foolish and ignorant man — is sufficiently well.versed [in poetry] to serve the king,* For hov, without having mastered both exoteric and esoteric knowledge, could he satisfy his master's mind? This is why he reached out for his pen, used the vriting leaves as a sun-shade, and counted the blossoming flowers.*

And so far as this inexperienced Tantular is concerned, he is not in the least deterred by derision of others,* Nor does he care about any criticism of his conduct: he will persist in attempting to fulfil his aspiration. It is clear that his verses cannot be used to comfort a sullen lady in the bed-chamber, But Tantular is not grieved by censure, nor is he delighted by praise of his virtue, … (?)*

He is indeed a foolish, impudent poet, who does not know hov to compose a poem; He is moreover not conversant with vords, nor skilled in the literary expression, metrical rules or prosody, nor is he of outstanding quality.* His work is far from being vorthy to be taken, and later be kept in the temple of books,* For the thought behind his work is not based on revelation; it is like gaḍuṅ vine trying to reach for the moon.

There is no doubt vhatsoever that his work will constantly be censured, reproved and laughed at by the great poets; But he is undeviating in his action in sending a poem vritten in the petals of the fragrant pandanus flowers. In short, when he has reached the peak of his attempt to vrite poetry, and the nagasari flowers have withered,* The only One [that there remains] for him to long for is One whose epithet is 'The Spirit who is present in the Scripture'.*