Shurpanakha Beholds Ravana's Glory

Shloka 1 (aranya.32.1)

ततः शूर्पणखा दृष्ट्वा सहस्राणि चतुर्दश । हतान्येकेन रामेण रक्षसां भीमकर्मणाम् ॥ 32.1 ॥

tataḥ śūrpaṇakhā dṛṣṭvā sahasrāṇi caturdaśa | hatānyekena rāmeṇa rakṣasāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām || 32.1 ||

Then Shurpanakha, having seen those fourteen thousand demons of dreadful deeds slain by Rama alone,

Shloka 2 (aranya.32.2)

दूषणं च खरं चैव हतं त्रिशिरसं रणे । दृष्ट्वा पुनर्महानादान् ननाद जलदोपमा ॥ 32.2 ॥

dūṣaṇaṃ ca kharaṃ caiva hataṃ triśirasaṃ raṇe | dṛṣṭvā punarmahānādān nanāda jaladopamā || 32.2 ||

and having seen Dushana, Khara, and Trishira too struck down in battle, let out a mighty roar once more, like a raincloud thundering.

Shloka 3 (aranya.32.3)

सा दृष्ट्वा कर्म रामस्य कृतमन्यैः सुदुष्करम् । जगाम परमोद्विग्ना लङ्कां रावणपालिताम् ॥ 32.3 ॥

sā dṛṣṭvā karma rāmasya kṛtamanyaiḥ suduṣkaram | jagāma paramodvignā laṅkāṃ rāvaṇapālitām || 32.3 ||

Having witnessed that deed of Rama's — one well-nigh impossible for anyone else — she, greatly agitated, hastened toward Lanka, ruled by Ravana.

Shloka 4 (aranya.32.4)

सा ददर्श विमानाग्रे रावणं दीप्ततेजसम् । उपोपविष्टं सचिवैर्मरुद्भिरिव वासवम् ॥ 32.4 ॥

sā dadarśa vimānāgre rāvaṇaṃ dīptatejasam | upopaviṣṭaṃ sacivairmarudbhiriva vāsavam || 32.4 ||

There she saw Ravana, blazing with his own splendor, seated close by his ministers atop his aerial palace, like Indra seated among the Maruts.

Shloka 5 (aranya.32.5)

आसीनं सूर्यसंकाशे काञ्चने परमासने । रुक्मवेदिगतं प्राज्यं ज्वलन्तमिव पावकम् ॥ 32.5 ॥

āsīnaṃ sūryasaṃkāśe kāñcane paramāsane | rukmavedigataṃ prājyaṃ jvalantamiva pāvakam || 32.5 ||

He sat there, radiant like the sun, upon a supreme golden throne, resembling a blazing sacrificial fire fed richly with ghee upon a golden altar.

Shloka 6 (aranya.32.6)

देवगन्धर्वभूतानामृषीणां च महात्मनाम् । अजेयं समरे घोरं व्यात्ताननमिवान्तकम् ॥ 32.6 ॥

devagandharvabhūtānāmṛṣīṇāṃ ca mahātmanām | ajeyaṃ samare ghoraṃ vyāttānanamivāntakam || 32.6 ||

Invincible in battle to gods, gandharvas, all beings, and even to great sages, terrible to behold, he seemed like Death himself sitting there with gaping jaws.

Shloka 7 (aranya.32.7)

देवासुरविमर्देषु वज्राशनिकृतव्रणम् । ऐरावतविषाणाग्रैरुत्कृष्टकिणवक्षसम् ॥ 32.7 ॥

devāsuravimardeṣu vajrāśanikṛtavraṇam | airāvataviṣāṇāgrairutkṛṣṭakiṇavakṣasam || 32.7 ||

His body bore the scars of countless wounds from the blows of Indra's thunderbolt in the wars of gods and demons, and his chest was pitted with the gouges left by the tusks of Airavata.

Shloka 8 (aranya.32.8)

विंशद्भुजं दशग्रीवं दर्शनीयपरिच्छदम् । विशालवक्षसं वीरं राजलक्षणलक्षितम् ॥ 32.8 ॥

viṃśadbhujaṃ daśagrīvaṃ darśanīyaparicchadam | viśālavakṣasaṃ vīraṃ rājalakṣaṇalakṣitam || 32.8 ||

Twenty-armed, ten-headed, adorned with regal insignia worthy of a king, broad-chested, that hero bore every mark of sovereignty.

Shloka 9 (aranya.32.9)

नद्धवैदूर्यसंकाशं तप्तकाञ्चनभूषणम् । सुभुजं शुक्लदशनं महास्यं पर्वतोपमम् ॥ 32.9 ॥

naddhavaidūryasaṃkāśaṃ taptakāñcanabhūṣaṇam | subhujaṃ śukladaśanaṃ mahāsyaṃ parvatopamam || 32.9 ||

Gleaming like a cat's-eye gem, adorned with earrings of refined gold, mighty-armed, white-toothed, wide-mouthed, he seemed like a very mountain.

Shloka 10 (aranya.32.10)

विष्णुचक्रनिपातैश्च शतशो देवसंयुगे । अन्यैः शस्त्रैः प्रहारैश्च महायुद्धेषु ताडितम् ॥ 32.10 ॥

viṣṇucakranipātaiśca śataśo devasaṃyuge | anyaiḥ śastraiḥ prahāraiśca mahāyuddheṣu tāḍitam || 32.10 ||

Hundreds of times he had been struck by the discus of Vishnu in wars with the gods, and struck too by other weapons in other great battles.

Shloka 11 (aranya.32.11)

आहताङ्गैः समस्तैस्तं देवप्रहरणैस्तदा । अक्षोभ्याणां समुद्राणां क्षोभणं क्षिप्रकारिणम् ॥ 32.11 ॥

āhatāṅgaiḥ samastaistaṃ devapraharaṇaistadā | akṣobhyāṇāṃ samudrāṇāṃ kṣobhaṇaṃ kṣiprakāriṇam || 32.11 ||

His limbs, thus battered by the weapons of all the gods, remained undaunted — indeed, he was one who could churn even the imperturbable oceans in an instant, at will.

Shloka 12 (aranya.32.12)

क्षेप्तारं पर्वताग्राणां सुराणां च प्रमर्दनम् । उच्छेत्तारं च धर्माणां परदाराभिमर्शनम् ॥ 32.12 ॥

kṣeptāraṃ parvatāgrāṇāṃ surāṇāṃ ca pramardanam | ucchettāraṃ ca dharmāṇāṃ paradārābhimarśanam || 32.12 ||

He was one who hurled mountain peaks, crushed the gods, uprooted righteousness itself, and violated the wives of others.

Shloka 13 (aranya.32.13)

सर्वदिव्यास्त्रयोक्तारं यज्ञविघ्नकरं सदा । पुरीं भोगवतीं गत्वा पराजित्य च वासुकिम् ॥ 32.13 ॥

sarvadivyāstrayoktāraṃ yajñavighnakaraṃ sadā | purīṃ bhogavatīṃ gatvā parājitya ca vāsukim || 32.13 ||

Master of every divine weapon, ever an obstructor of sacred rites; having gone to the city of Bhogavati and vanquished Vasuki, king of the serpents,

Shloka 14 (aranya.32.14)

तक्षकस्य प्रियां भार्यां पराजित्य जहार यः । कैलासं पर्वतं गत्वा विजित्य नरवाहनम् ॥ 32.14 ॥

takṣakasya priyāṃ bhāryāṃ parājitya jahāra yaḥ | kailāsaṃ parvataṃ gatvā vijitya naravāhanam || 32.14 ||

he had overpowered and forcibly abducted the beloved wife of Takshaka; and going to Mount Kailasa, he had vanquished Kubera, whose vehicle is borne by men,

Shloka 15 (aranya.32.15)

विमानं पुष्पकं तस्य कामगं वै जहार यः । वनं चैत्ररथं दिव्यं नलिनीं नन्दनं वनम् ॥ 32.15 ॥

vimānaṃ puṣpakaṃ tasya kāmagaṃ vai jahāra yaḥ | vanaṃ caitrarathaṃ divyaṃ nalinīṃ nandanaṃ vanam || 32.15 ||

and seized from him the Pushpaka, the aerial chariot that travels at its rider's will; that mighty one had, in his fury, laid waste the divine grove Chaitraratha, the lotus-lake Nalini, the garden Nandana,

Shloka 16 (aranya.32.16)

विनाशयति यः क्रोधाद् देवोद्यानानि वीर्यवान् । चन्द्रसूर्यौ महाभागावुत्तिष्ठन्तौ परंतपौ ॥ 32.16 ॥

vināśayati yaḥ krodhād devodyānāni vīryavān | candrasūryau mahābhāgāvuttiṣṭhantau paraṃtapau || 32.16 ||

and other pleasure-gardens of the gods. Huge as a mountain peak, he, that great foe-scorcher, could halt even the mighty rising sun and moon,

Shloka 17 (aranya.32.17)

निवारयति बाहुभ्यां यः शैलशिखरोपमः । दशवर्षसहस्राणि तपस्तप्त्वा महावने ॥ 32.17 ॥

nivārayati bāhubhyāṃ yaḥ śailaśikharopamaḥ | daśavarṣasahasrāṇi tapastaptvā mahāvane || 32.17 ||

with his two arms alone. In ages past, that resolute one, having performed fierce austerity for ten thousand years in a great forest,

Shloka 18 (aranya.32.18)

पुरा स्वयंभुवे धीरः शिरांस्युपजहार यः । देवदानवगन्धर्वपिशाचपतगोरगैः ॥ 32.18 ॥

purā svayaṃbhuve dhīraḥ śirāṃsyupajahāra yaḥ | devadānavagandharvapiśācapatagoragaiḥ || 32.18 ||

had offered up his own heads in oblation to the self-born Brahma; and from gods, danavas, gandharvas, pishachas, birds, and serpents —

Shloka 19 (aranya.32.19)

अभयं यस्य संग्रामे मृत्युतो मानुषादृते । मन्त्रैरभिष्टुतं पुण्यमध्वरेषु द्विजातिभिः ॥ 32.19 ॥

abhayaṃ yasya saṃgrāme mṛtyuto mānuṣādṛte | mantrairabhiṣṭutaṃ puṇyamadhvareṣu dvijātibhiḥ || 32.19 ||

he had nothing to fear of death in battle, save from man alone. That mighty one would seize even the soma-juice, hallowed by the mantras of the twice-born,

Shloka 20 (aranya.32.20)

हविर्धानेषु यः सोममुपहन्ति महाबलः । प्राप्तयज्ञहरं दुष्टं ब्रह्मघ्नं क्रूरकारिणम् ॥ 32.20 ॥

havirdhāneṣu yaḥ somamupahanti mahābalaḥ | prāptayajñaharaṃ duṣṭaṃ brahmaghnaṃ krūrakāriṇam || 32.20 ||

and set apart in the vessels of oblation at their sacrifices; he was one who plundered the fruits of completed sacrifices, malicious, a slayer of brahmins, cruel in his deeds,

Shloka 21 (aranya.32.21)

कर्कशं निरनुक्रोशं प्रजानामहिते रतम् । रावणं सर्वभूतानां सर्वलोकभयावहम् ॥ 32.21 ॥

karkaśaṃ niranukrośaṃ prajānāmahite ratam | rāvaṇaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ sarvalokabhayāvaham || 32.21 ||

hard-hearted, merciless, and forever devoted to the harm of the people — that Ravana, a terror to all beings and to every world,

Shloka 22 (aranya.32.22)

राक्षसी भ्रातरं क्रूरं सा ददर्श महाबलम् । तं दिव्यवस्त्राभरणं दिव्यमाल्योपशोभितम् ॥ 32.22 ॥

rākṣasī bhrātaraṃ krūraṃ sā dadarśa mahābalam | taṃ divyavastrābharaṇaṃ divyamālyopaśobhitam || 32.22 ||

cruel and mighty — that demoness beheld him as her own brother; she saw him arrayed in celestial garments and jewels, adorned with heavenly garlands,

Shloka 23 (aranya.32.23)

आसने सूपविष्टं तं काले कालमिवोद्यतम् । राक्षसेन्द्रं महाभागं पौलस्त्यकुलनन्दनम् ॥ 32.23 ॥

āsane sūpaviṣṭaṃ taṃ kāle kālamivodyatam | rākṣasendraṃ mahābhāgaṃ paulastyakulanandanam || 32.23 ||

seated fittingly upon his throne, like Time itself risen to bring an end even to Time — that highly fortunate lord of the demons, joy of the line of sage Pulastya,

Shloka 24 (aranya.32.24)

उपगम्याब्रवीद् वाक्यं राक्षसी भयविह्वला । रावणं शत्रुहन्तारं मन्त्रिभिः परिवारितम् ॥ 32.24 ॥

upagamyābravīd vākyaṃ rākṣasī bhayavihvalā | rāvaṇaṃ śatruhantāraṃ mantribhiḥ parivāritam || 32.24 ||

destroyer of his foes, surrounded by his ministers — approaching him, that demoness, overwhelmed with fear, spoke these words:

Shloka 25 (aranya.32.25)

तमब्रवीद् दीप्तविशाललोचनं प्रदर्शयित्वा भयलोभमोहिता । सुदारुणं वाक्यमभीतचारिणी महात्मना शूर्पणखा विरूपिता ॥ 32.25 ॥

tamabravīd dīptaviśālalocanaṃ pradarśayitvā bhayalobhamohitā | sudāruṇaṃ vākyamabhītacāriṇī mahātmanā śūrpaṇakhā virūpitā || 32.25 ||

Disfigured by the great-souled Lakshmana, bewildered alike by fear and by her own confused longing, that fearless wanderer Shurpanakha, displaying her mutilated state, spoke these very harsh words to Ravana of the blazing, wide eyes.