Amrita Collected Papers by A M Ghatage

SR No.: 006968
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: Kasturbhai Lalbhai Smarak Nidhi Ahmedabad
Total Pages: 530
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 10 MB

Page 136

Māhārāștri Language and Literature
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is prepared to fight. Rāvana also is ready and his army is arrayed. While the demons are girting themselves up the monkeys lay a siege to Lankā. Now follows the encounter of the two armies on the battle-field (xii). The battle continues for a long time with victory inclining towards one side or the other in turn and the heroes of both the parties meet in individual duals and Angada defeats Indrajit (xiii).
. On the field now come both Rāma and Laksmana and there arises a fierce combat between them and Indrajit, who however, overcomes them for a short time with the missile of the serpents. Both of them fall in a swoon to great grief in the army of the monkeys. But they soon recover and Rāma invokes Garuda to ward off the serpents. Individual combats between the heroes of both the armies go on in the meanwhile (xiv). One by one the leaders of the demons begin to fall. First Kumbhakarna is killed, Indrajit follows him and Rāvana, enraged at the loss of his brother and son, hits Laksmana with his irresistible power. Laksmana falls in a swoon but soon recovers. Now follows a fight between Rāma and Rāvana wherein the latter is defeated and killed. Bibhisana laments the loss of his brother. After the battle Rāma returns, back to Ayodhyā along with Sītā who is purified in fire to satisfy the love of Bharata. The author then closes the epic which he names Rāvanavaho and in which he has used the word Anurās as a characteristic mark (xv).
In this epic Pravarasena shows all the equipments of a classical scholar composing a Mahākāvya. In the third and fourth chapters he shows his knowledge of the royal policy and depicts a lovely controversy about the respective merits of following the direct policy of proceeding against the difficulty and the sober method of inventing some device to overcome the same. Sugrīva asks the monkeys not to wipe off their fame which he compares to a good person who is somehow come to make a request, both being difficult to be obtained once more 157. It is the duty of the lord to order while the real burden of the work falls on the servants158 Battle and its hardships alone are able to distinguish between true heroes and those who pretend to be so 159. The words of Jāmbavat are equally weighty. He points out that dejection carries off fortitude, youthfulness removes modesty, and love takes off the sense of shame 160 What warriors in union can do can never be done by them individually which he illustrates by the fact that one ray of the sun may torment at the most, but all of them are able to burn the three worlds 161 Energy misplaced proves neither effective nor dreads the enemy i the mistaken arrow shot in rage neither hits the mark nor produces fear162.