Blessings of Sri Vaikuntha Ekadashi!
(Melkote Sri Cheluvanarayana today)
January 13 - Sargas 77, 78 and 79 of Yudsdha Kanda.
The slaying of Nikumbha and Makaraksha by Hanuman and Sri Rama respectively.
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Nikumbha was unable to accept the death of his brother Kumbha. He gave Sugriva a burning look as he picked up a huge parigha (a kind of club). It was huge like a mountain and shone splendidly with many encrustations of gems and garlands. It had deadly iron rings every five inches apart. It looked like Yamadanda and dispelled the fears of the rakshasas.
Brandishing that mighty parigha, Nikumbha roared. He wore splendid ornaments all over and shone like Cupid's bow (rainbow).
The parigha shattered the seven intersections of the wind as it made a huge swish of a sound. It appeared that Nikumbha was shaking to their roots Indra's Amaravati and Kubera's Alakavati and so on.
As the rakshasas and vanaras were both transfixed by the deadly sight of Nikumbha brandishing his magnificent weapon, Hanuman stood his ground, undaunted, with his inflated chest.
Nikumbha with his mighty arms raised his parigha and struck Hanuman on the chest. The expansive and incomparable chest of Hanuman was unaffected but the parigha itself shattered to hundreds of pieces emitting torch-like flames all around!
Hanuman tightened his mighty fist now and swung a terrific blow to Nikumbha's chest. Nikumbha's armour shattered and blood spilled out of his chest. Nikumbha recovered quickly, and surprising Hanuman, he lifted him off and started running to Lanka!
The rakshasas shouted in victory. Hanuman was busy hitting Nikumbha with his fists.
Hanuman now wriggled free and in turn, picked up Nikumbha and dumped him hard on the ground. He forcefully twisted Nikumbha on the ground and then leapt up, landing hard on Nikumbha's torso. Nikumbha let out deathly cries. Hanuman twisted Nikumbha's neck and killed him.
While the vanaras announced their triumph and their roars filled all the directions, the rakshasas again made their way in terror to Lanka.
***
नैर्ऋतः क्रोधशोकाभ्यां द्वाभ्यां तु परिमूर्छितः
"Ravana swooned, overcome with anger and sorrow at once."
He recovered to call Khara's son, Makaraksha, and order him to go to battle.
राघवं लक्ष्मणं चैव जहि तौ सवनौकसौ - "Hero Makaraksha, go and kill Rama, Lakshamana along with all the vanaras."
Makarasha was full of spirit and bowing down to Ravana, ordered the army to get ready and go with him.
Makaraksha mounted his chariot and ordered the army, "Be with me and fight like there is no tomorrow. I have been ordered by our king to kill Rama and Lakshmana as well as the vanaras. The enemy will burn down like dried wood when touched by the fire of my arrows."
Valmiki does not want our imagination to go to sleep and so he reminds us how the rakshasas looked- grotesque, huge, with sharp protruding canines, disheveled hair, and burning red eyes. They were also capable of assuming any form at will and knew no mercy. They roared as they surrounded Makaraksha and proceeded to war. The war drums were sounded fiercely.
Makaraksha ignored many ill-omens like the reins slipping from the charioteer's grip, the horses stumbling and moaning in distress, his insignia flag breaking and falling down. There was also a black dust storm.
***
The vanaras saw Makaraksha arrive and got themselves ready for battle.
वृक्षशैलनिपातैश्च गदापरिघपातनैः ।
अन्योन्यं मर्दयन्ति स्म तदा कपिनिशाचराः ॥
"Employing trees and rocks, countering them with maces and clubs, both sides - vanaras and rakshasas, pounded each other fiercely."
Makaraksha was an adept archer. His arrows soon scattered the vanaras in distress unable to bear their casualties. The rakshasas started roaring in triumph.
Sri Rama now picked up his bow, and with a rain of arrows, tamed the rakshasas very quickly. Makaraksha burnt in fury to see this.
तिष्ठ राम मया सार्धं द्वन्द्वयुद्धं भविष्यति त्याजायिष्यामि ते प्राणान् धनुर्मुक्तैः शितैः शरैः
"Hold on, Rama! Let there be our duel now. I shall kill you with my sharp arrows!"
"I cannot subdue my anger at the way you have been incessantly killing rakshasas starting with my father King Khara in Janasthana. I wish I had been there then to kill you. Of course fortunately you have come within my orbit today to receive my punishment. I am hungry as a lion for its kill. You shall keep company in Yamaloka with all the rakshasas you have killed so far! Why describe what will happen. Let the whole world see how I fight you now. You can even choose what weapons to fight me with."
रामो अब्रवीत्प्रहसन् वाक्यमुत्तरोत्तरवादिनम्
"Sri Rama laughed loudly and replied to Makaraskha's words of braggadocio."
न रणे श्क्यते जेतुं विना युद्धेन वाग्बलात्
"Why are you blabbering!? Brave men know that wars are not won with words but with fighting."
"Don't you know fourteen thousand rakshasas including Khara, Dushana, and Trishiras were killed by me? Just as their corpses fed the scavenging animals and birds then, the same will happen to you too today."
Marakarsha started shooting a hail of arrows. Sri Rama shot every one of them down with his own, causing a rain of shining broken arrows.
They confronted each other at close quarters and their dexterity and the sounds of their bowstrings resounded like the clash of rain-clouds. There was a good audience of celestials who took ringside seats in the skies.
After a period when the two warriors matched each other filling up the skies with their arrows and countering each other, Sri Rama decided enough was enough,
First Sri Rama destroyed Makaraksha's chariot, his bow, his horses, and his charioteer too.
Makaraksha jumped down to earth and attacked with a blazing spear. This had been given to him by Lord Shiva himself as a boon. It was dazzling fiercely, announcing its infallibility.
Makarasha whirled that spear menacingly in the air and launched it at Sri Rama just as the celestials were expressing great concern. Sri Rama intercepted that spear mid-air with four arrows and broke it. The spear shattered into shining fragments that flew like fire sparks.
There was a cry of "Bravo! Bravo! Raghava!" from the skies.
Makaraksha was tightening his fist threatening Sri Rama, as Sri Rama smilingly set Agneyastra to his bow.
In an instant, the Agneyastra had shattered Makaraksha's heart and he lay dead on the ground.
The rakshasas fled to save themselves from Sri Rama's arrows. The death of Makaraksha was akin to the shattering of a mountain by Indra's thunderbolt and the celestials celebrated it.
***
॥ श्रीरामजयम् ॥
