Though the mighty Makaraksha stood like a thundercloud arisen in wrath, with gestures fierce and form colossal, the champions of the simian race, emboldened by past glories under the gracious eye of Rama, took heart. Steeled by virtue and resolved in righteousness, they arrayed themselves in fearless formation, unmoved by the terror of the demon…
At either end of the field, the warriors strove in battle, seeking not victory, but death. Prince Angada, lion-hearted son of Vali, met the demon Kampana in single combat. The rakshasa, with a terrible mace, struck the prince and shook him. Yet Angada rose unshaken, seized a great stone, and hurled it upon Kampana. Struck…
The vanara hosts, steadfast in duty and pressed by time’s relentless flow, hastened again to their charge, for delay breeds decay, and the enemy, now hollow in heart and store, must be struck where spirit falters. Then spoke Sugreeva, lord of simian clans, unto Hanuman, son of the Wind, venerable and strong: “What yet remains,…
As the dreadful Brahmastra, born of the Creator’s will and unleashed by Indrajit, raged with divine fury, Rama and Lakshmana, perceiving resistance would but multiply destruction, yielded themselves to its power and fell unconscious, bound as many warriors before them. The false pride of Indrajit, mistaking submission for conquest, led him to withdraw without further…
When the tidings of Athikaya’s fall reached Ravana, mighty king of Lanka, his soul, like a rudderless vessel in a tempest, lost anchor and drifted into a gulf of helpless silence. Grief, like a howling wind of the night, swept over him, rending his proud composure, and madness circled his brow like a crown of…
Blazing forth with the splendor of blessings divine, bearing the pride of Brahma’s boons, the mighty Athikaya—colossal in frame, unmatched in force—rose like a wrathful comet over the fields of battle. Oft had he heard of his noble uncles and brave cousins fallen by the hands of Rama’s hosts; his heart, thus vexed with fury,…
The field of war blazed as with fire from heaven, roaring with the cries of wrathful hosts. Naranthaka lay fallen, stricken by valor’s hand, and at his death, the hearts of Asuras churned like stormy seas. Trisira, his brother, burned with rage as if his soul had caught fire, while Mahodara, son of Pulastya, wept…
Behold the sons of Lanka, proud scions of Ravana’s blood, who stormed the battlefield with pomp and fury. Though their youthful zeal lacked compass, it kindled anew the fiery vigor of their sire, blazing through demon ranks. Their roars matched the sky’s thunder, their bows twanged like tempests, and the host of demons shouted till…
The fall of Kumbhakarna, a mountain among men, cast dread across the demon realm like thunder in a sleeping sky. That indomitable protector of Lanka, who once defied gods and ghosts alike, fell at last beneath the arrows of a mortal. Those who beheld the battlefield that bore his fall wandered henceforth like phantoms, robbed…
Struck with astonishment and wrath, the demon-giant stood bewildered as Sugreeva, the monkey-king, escaped his clutch, leaving behind insult and injury. His evil design to shatter Rama’s strength and sow despair among the Vanara host by capturing Sugreeva was thwarted by the very power that guarded the monkey race. Without pause or pity, he seized…
