Ravana Vanquished
TITANS,
assembled here, the race supreme on this earthly A city supreme bejewelled in this sea-girt isle On a stony crest they shall set up in their own
might, Fearless defying the King of the gods, in disregard
of the world. But listen! What is this rumour All along the walls surrounding the city of Lanka, What is this tumult unprecedented in this land? Is this the roar of a puny army in laughter and jeer, Dancing
over the head of the Mother of rakshasas, reveling in
pride and victory? But
whom do I fear? Why am I confined, a prisoner in my own city? Mute
I look at their mad dance, hear their loud boast? Protected by
Varuna in this sea one .can never cross, We warriors
enjoyed the wide universe. A little island
has proudly trampled over the whole mankind, And is the
master of it, possessed as its own The wide earth
with her million habitants. The haughty
King of the gods, who names himself The imperial
majesty of the triple worlds, Is himself
imprisoned and works as a slave here today in our Lanka It is through the might of your arms. Here are we the same Titans. Here is our city, Lanka.
Page-183 Is that might of the arms turned limp? Say, Titans, has that pride lost its brilliance? Has
that power evaporated unnoticed As we lay courting sleep at night without care? Who has stolen your blazing might? Is it Krishna or Mahadeva or any other bold enough In the still night trembling to enter Lanka while she
lay asleep? Oh! the irony of Fate! the unconquerable race Is conquered at last in a petty skirmish! Petty man is victorious in Titan's land! I could understand, if Rudra with his trident rushed
in, His Cosmic might teeming with demi-gods and demons And for days and nights
and centuries battled and battered and
broke through And at last, Providence
aiding, ravaged and destroyed the city of Lanka.
I could also understand if
the great Vishnu spread His net of duplicity, cast his spell of darkness Upon the intelligence of the Rakshasas and stole away
The Fair Royal Deity of Lanka. But we are
conquered by the arms of Rama, Men have trampled upon the
city of Ravana! Smile happily, O vanquished gods now in heaven, There is no fear of punishment for you any more. Smile, O Indra, in happiness, the
lord of the gods is now free from slavery. I do not blame you, if you take pride in this victory
That should be a shame for you. Luminous is the city of Heaven, eternal Spring is
there, Enjoy the garden of Paradise there through the
mortal's
grace. Ravana, enemy of
the gods, is vanquished at the hands of a
human being.
Page-184 Vanquished! Listen! O
listen! on the mighty rock afar, The fierce echo hears and
laughs at the word: It is the daughter of the
Mountain in this Isle of Lanka and her thundering voice. Vanquished!
It rends the mind and heart to utter the word. A Titan's tongue cannot speak it out. A
proud Rakshasa clad in iron-strength, with iron weapons, Not
content with earthly victories I roamed in all the three heavens, Not
content, I assailed the very crest of the triple world. You say that
race is vanquished! A mirage is this truth, False is this history. Brothers,
friends and sons are killed; in my vast bejeweled halls,
Crowded
with slaves and servants I wander all alone In
search of friendly faces but in vain. The
women's quarters are crowded too; there with a dry
and desert heart I look
upon mothers who have lost their sons. In the
Assembly Hall, in the battlefield, In the
joyless taverns, in the insipid playfield My eyes
in vain look-for the glories of Lanka. Silent
is the lion roar. Into these ears used to be poured A
torrent of delight, the trumpet call of victory, The
wild war-cry, the leonine yell of my brother Kumbhakarna. But O Aksha, O Indrajit, why are you silent at this
hour
of
peril! Why does not your ever victorious voice delight our
ears
anymore! O my children, is the embrace of Death so fast, so sweet! Pardon me, Titans, for the first time today the earth Under Ravana's power is wet with Ravana's tears. But
nay, let them be slain, I am yet there. Shall history write in its
pages in iron letters as truth
Page-185 That the world conquerors
at last were conquered by Rama,
the little feeble man! This
dark infamy shall never be written down in the history Of
the Rakshasas. Let the
world hear of the past history and wonder And
declare that the son of Dasharath enjoyed a momentary victory Because of the negligence
of the Rakshasas. Now, the wonderful news will spread, unique on earth,
A thing to madden a hero's heart, that sons killed, Friends killed, killed all the great heroes, Yet Ravana, the Rakshasa, rises again with a roar, Leaps mad into battle, and a few of Lanka's men Kill countless enemies in a few days, With little effort enthrall again the whole rebel world. Arise once more, wipe away the memory of grief, Wipe off from your heart all shadow of sorrows, Kindle fire of wrath in your blinded eyes. Forget pity, forget weariness, O heaven-conquering race. In an iron body, an iron mind and heart befits the race of
Rakshasas. Once more we shall slaughter all and each. We shall cross the seas and depopulate The land of birth of the son of Wind-god. With myriads of prisoners, slaves unnumbered We shall repopulate to overflowing the isle of Lanka,
Beget in the wombs of the enemy womanhood a new race
of children. But what has gone, let it go― We shall build again, we shall destroy again. We are not puny human hearts, Ravana's thirst is not quenched with scanty blood! The flaming grief dies not in this vast heart Satisfied with a feeble revenge. A little enjoyment does not enfeeble the ardour of
these senses.
Page-186 All the world and enjoy
the Infinite itself. Otherwise rest content, O jackals of Shiva's consort, Rest content, O you host of vultures A deathbed for me shall I build up like a hill With thousands and thousands of human and ape heads. Or I shall throw into devouring fire, like faggots, All the rich treasures, things of beauty and art of
ancient Lanka I shall throw down all this peerless grandeur: This entire great city I shall light up into a
titanic funeral
pyre. The three heavens with Earth I have won in battle, I imprisoned all the gods, I enjoyed fame
incomparable; I am as though the all-enveloping world-eye of the
Sun, I burn at The world adores the scorching Fire. I shine over the universe, displaying my effulgence. As the sun reddens the blue of the firmament with its
own blood And goes down at setting in all its glory, So shall I sink into the I was at dawn, during my sway, head uplifted, Fierce and radiant. And at the setting I will be there still, In death and destruction unconquerable, a
fierce lustre and a
mighty blaze.
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