Nityaraamasmaranam Aranya Kaanda - Ch. 227
Fourteen Fiends Fall
Today, Shoorpanakha arrives with Khara’s demons at Shri Rama’s cottage…a great battle follows!
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At peaceful Panchavati, Shoorpanakha arrived with those 14 fierce demons and pointed out Shri Rama, Lakshmana and Seetha, who were happily wandering outside their cottage. Bhagavan soon noticed the newcomers…as well as Shoorpanakha.
“Lakshmana, protect Sita, while I give these fiends a grand send-off.” Lakshmana knowingly smiled and nodded.
Lifting the awesome, golden Kodanda, Bhagavan stringed it and warned the demons, “We are the sons of Dasharatha, Rama and Lakshmana, and we have entered the dense Dandaka with my wife Seetha. We live like Yogis, detached, eating fruits and tubers and follow Dharma. Why are you attacking us?”
“Anyway, I have promised the Rishis to slay evil beings like you in fair battle. Stay if you wish to fight, else you may return, if you desire to live.”
“Enraged at His words, those Rishi-eating demons replied harshly – “You puny human, you have angered our great master Khara. How can you fight all of us alone, when we will aim maces, spears and swords, whereby you will fall dead and lose your golden bow too?”
Fourteen spears flew towards Rama and in reply, he shot an equal number of golden arrows, shredding those spears. The next moment, the angry Bhagavan shot fourteen iron arrows just as Indra would aim his Vajra. These pierced the demons’ chests and coming out covered in blood, those darts entered the Earth.
On seeing the demons lie dead, Shoorpanakha, in fear and rage, sped back to Khara’s palace at his capital Trikantaka, wailing loudly. Whining all along, she narrated about the fearsome battle at Panchavati and how all his demons had fallen.
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