Recalling Ram
Suman K Sharma
The incident at Ram’s Parnkuti might have passed off lightly, if only Shroopnakha had shown good sense not to take Lakshman’s jocular words too seriously. But it turned out to be a clash of two distinct ways of life. Shroopnakha could not forsake her rakshasi-self, neither could Ram or his younger brother Lakshman forgo their Aryan values. The spark that the clash generated turned into a flare which would eventually scorch whole of the Rakshasa race.
Shroopnakha had to suffer mutilation. Her loss of nose – ‘naakkatna’ – and ears was a lasting shame not only to herself but to her community as well. Fourteen of the fiercest warriors detailed by Khar to kill the ‘two young hermits and the woman accompanying them’ got themselves killed by Ram. Khar plunged headlong into the battlefield. Far more than his wish to avenge his sister’s mutilation, the death of fourteen of his select warriors at the hands of Ram would not leave him in peace. The same Khar, who with his brother Dooshan, had till now terrorised the whole of Dandkaranya with wanton killing of rishi-munis, got worried about the open threat to his supremacy in the forest. There was no option left to him but march at the head of a fourteen-thousand strong army of blood-thirsty rakshasas to fight Ram.
Sant Tulsidas conjures up Ram’s image as he faces Khar’s army –
Kodundkathincharhai sir jatjootbandhat soh kyon/
Markatsayal par laratdaminikoti son jug bhujagjyon//
Kati kasi nishangbisalbhujgahi chap bisikhsudhari kai/
Chitwatmanhunmrigraj Prabhu gajrajghta nihari kai//
Stringing the hard bow after tying up his matted hair in a bun on his head, (Shri Ram) dazzles as if two serpents, bright as crores of lightening, were fighting on a mountain of emeralds. Tying a quiver tight to his waist, carrying a bow in his big arms and rightening the arrow, Prabhu (Shri Ram) is looking at rakshasas as if a lion were gazing at a herd of mad elephants advancing towards it.
– Ramcharitmanas, Aranya Kand, 17 (chhand)
Khar rode an ornate chariot carrying deadly weapons. His brother Dooshan was with him. Their army was equipped with armour, sharp battle-axes, swords, chakra-quoits and spears. The warriors made great noise with their shouts and kettle-drums as they marched on under the command of their generals.
On seeing the enemy, Ram commanded Lakshman to take Sita along with him to the safety of a mountain cave hidden behind trees: “There is no doubt that you are brave and strong. You can kill these night-walking rakshasas. But I want to slay them myself.” In obedience to his brother’s command, Lakshman, armed with his bow and arrows, escorted Sita to an inaccessible mountain cave.
Maharishi Balmiki says (see Balmiki Ramayan, Aranya Kand, Canto 24) that a host of divine beings such as Devas, Gandharvas, accomplished Siddhas, Chaaran minstrels and others gathered to watch the battle between Ram and the rakshasas. “On the one side are fourteen thousand rakshasas of dire deeds and on the other stands the pious Ram, all by himself. Then how will this battle proceed?” The divinities asked each other anxiously.
Khar commanded his charioteer to position his chariot in front of Ram. Then the battle began in earnest. Ram was hit by a barrage of diverse weapons from all sides. Even though his body was grievously injured, he was steadfast in hitting back the enemy. The rakshasas were falling dead in great numbers. The survivors among them sustained grave injuries. There was turmoil in the army. At that juncture Dooshan came forward to reassure them of their might and heroic qualities. The warriors assaulted Ram with renewed vigour. Ram, even though he was bleeding profusely through innumerable wounds on his body, responded with such intensity that the enemy was rendered unable to gain an upper hand.
Perceiving the impending defeat, Dooshan rallied five thousand battle-hardened warriors who pounced on Ram from all sides with spears, swords, double-edged ‘pattish’, arrows, and even stones and trees. Ram retaliated with a rain of deadly arrows. He killed Dooshan’s charioteer as also his horses. In utter rage, Dooshan advanced towards him with a javelin, but Ram was quick enough to cut off both of his arms and he toppled to the ground like a felled tree. Dooshan’s three trusted lieutenants, Mahakapal, Sthoolaksh and Pramthi, jointly attacked Ram, but they too were killed fiercely by Ram.
Dismayed at his brother Dooshan’s death, Khar led an attack on Ram with twelve of his generals. Ram killed all of them Khar and his three-headed general, Trishira.
As Khar was advancing towards Ram, Trishira hastened towards him, volunteering to kill Ram “who deserves to be killed for the sake of all the rakshasas.” He pledged before his master that either he would be the cause of Ram’s death or be himself killed by Ram in the battle-field. Maharishi Balmiki comments that it was Trishira’s longing to be killed at the hands of Ram that he persuaded Khar to let him engage in combat with Ram singlehandedly. A fierce battle ensued between Ram and Trishira. Ram killed his charioteer and destroyed his chariot. When Trishira was trying to climb down from his damaged chariot, Ram pierced his chest with an arrow. He shot three more arrows to take away the three heads of the brave warrior. Seeing him lying dead, the surviving rakshasas fled from the battle-field.
Khar was now frightened. A major part of his army had been annihilated. His trusted generals were dead. He had to face Ram alone. Mustering his courage, he drew his chariot close to Ram and cut off Ram’s bow with an unmatched alacrity . Ram’s armour also fell down. Khar’s arrows penetrated all his body parts. Ram then wielded the mighty bow that Agastya had gifted him. With that bow he not only disarmed Khar but also hurt him badly. In this manner the fight between the two adversaries went on till Ram killed Khar with a special arrow that Lord Indra had given him.
Thus ended the reign of terror that rakshasas had unleashed in Dandkaranya. Lakshman brought back Sita to the Parnkuti where rishi-munis had gathered to felicitate Ram on his victory. But Ram’s battle with Khar-Dooshan only presaged a full-scale war for which the battle lines were being drawn.
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