Jain Ramayana Part 3

Author(s): Bhadraguptasuri
Publisher: Vishvakalyan Prakashan Trust Mehsana

Page 13

LXXIII
VIBHISHAN
Chandranakha's lamentations filled all the people in the harem in Ravan's palace with great grief and anguish. She had
w managed to escape with her son, Sund, from Pathal Lanka; and had run away to Lanka. She could not find any place on earth where she and her son could remain safe and secure. Therefore, as soon as she met her brother Ravan, she embraced him and began weeping bitterly :
“Dear brother! I am absolutely helpless. I have lost everything. I have no shelter except the earth and the sky. My son has been killed; my husband has been killed in the war; my two brothers-in-law have been killed; and our army of fourteen thousand soldiers has been decimated."
Ravan heard the heart-rending story of Chandranakha with stupefaction and horripilation.
"Dear brother! Though I have a heroic brother like you I am now compelled to lead a life of destitution. Oh! I have lost my prosperous kingdom of Pathal Lanka and I. with my son, Sund, had to run away from there to save our lives; and we have come here seeking your refuge and protection. Kindly protect me and my son. Now, in this world, I have no other support except you. You are my only prop in this distress of mine. Now, the boat of my life is staggering in the mid-stream of life. Oh dear brother! Only you can help it to reach the shore."
"Dear Chandranakha! You are indeed in great distress. Your story is really heart-rending but you need not at all worry. Your tragic story has broken my heart into pieces but be