Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
## The Eighth Chapter
2
As the messenger spoke, the ocean of ten heads was filled with agitation. || 178 ||
Hearing the messenger's words, the ten-headed one was shaken as if someone had grabbed him and shaken him violently. Sweat poured from every pore of his body, and his eyes, blood-red, stained the entire sky. || 179 ||
Then, deafening the directions with his voice that echoed through the sky, the ten-headed one, making the elephants lose their madness with his roar, spoke. || 180 ||
"Who is this Vaishravana, or who is called Indra, who has seized our city, inherited through generations?" || 181 ||
"This shameless, low-born man, acting like Indra in front of his servants, is like a crow pretending to be a hawk, and a jackal acting like a Sarabha." || 182 ||
"Oh, messenger! You speak harsh words in front of us without fear. I will offer your head as a sacrifice to my anger." || 183 ||
Saying this, he drew his sword from its sheath, making the sky, like a vast lake, appear as if it were filled with a forest of blue lotuses. || 184 ||
His sword, making a humming sound, trembled as if from the wind's anger, appearing as if Yama himself had come in the form of a sword, or as if it were the son of violence. || 185 ||
The ten-headed one had just raised his sword when Vibhishana intervened, calming him with great respect. || 186 ||
"What is the fault of this servant, this wretched, degraded soul, who has sold his body and repeats whatever he is told, like a parrot?" || 187 ||
"The messengers speak whatever they do, driven by their master, who resides in their hearts, like a demon. In reality, the messengers are like puppets, controlled by others." || 188 ||
"Therefore, O noble one, be pleased and show mercy to the suffering creature. By killing a small being, the earth will be filled with infamy in the world." || 189 ||
"Your sword will fall only on the heads of your enemies, for Garuda does not attack the non-poisonous snakes that live in water." || 190 ||
Thus, the fire of anger in the ten-headed one was quelled by the water of good counsel from Vibhishana, the righteous speaker, until others pulled the messenger's feet and quickly dragged him out of the assembly hall.
The Acharya says:
1. Karabhaayate M.
2. Neet M.
3. Mivaasannam M.
4. Yatra M.
|| 181 ||