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CANTO XIII
1. Thereupon the demons, who joined battle as soon as they sallied out, and the apes, who closed in upon them, initiated and bore the brunt of heavy fighting, uttering loud cries.
2. As the warriors rushed forward, trampling on the fallen bodies of those in front of them, they came so close to one another that they drew back a little in their eagerness to strike.
3. The demons wielded their weapons against the enemy in the forefront of the battle just as they had purposed in their hearts, and determined with their dust-covered eyes.
4. Quick to secure vantage ground, and adroit in striking the first blow, the warriors, who wielded firmly gripped unwavering swords, and hit the mark, never yielded ground to the enemy.
5. The elephants of the demons tried to shake off the trees with the swaying branches, hurled by the apes, which had penetrated their temples, wiping off the vermilion paint as they whirled round the face.
6. The justly grievous consequences of both Rāma's terrible wrath and Rāvana's irresistible passion began to be manifest all at once.
7. The Raksasa army provided both the targets and the means of attack for the apes, since they killed the elephants with the elephants, the horses with the horses, and the chariot-fighters with the chariots.
8. The demons moved about piercing the mountains (hurled by the apes) with their arrows, and breaking up with their clubs what remained of pierced by the arrows; while they smashed with their arms those that were out of reach of their weapons.
9. The massive trunk of an elephant, even though it accurately hit the shoulder of an ape, broad as the expanse of a mountain, slipped aside, failing to hem it round.
1. Cf. Kulanātha in Extracts.
2. Lit. The ... army became both the adversary and the weapon.... S. 18
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