The ground was strewn with monkeys whose limbs had been severed by Ravana’s arrows. The monkeys were unable to withstand even one of Ravana’s arrows, any more than moths would be able to withstand a blazing fire. Tormented by those arrows, the monkeys fled, screaming like elephants burnt by flames. Ravana advanced on the battleground, slaughtering monkey soldiers with his arrows, as the wind disperses a big cloud. After quickly devastating the forest-dwelling monkeys, Ravana then rushed toward Rama on the field of battle.
Seeing the monkeys defeated and driven from the battlefield, Sugreeva put Sushena in charge of the division and decided to enter into the fray. Having appointing a warrior equal to himself as his substitute, Sugreeva headed toward the enemy armed with a tree. Grabbing all kinds of huge boulders and trees, the monkey commanders followed behind him or at his sides. Sugreeva roared very loudly on the battlefield as he destroyed outstanding rakshasas, as well as other ordinary ones. Sugreeva smashed gigantic rakshasas as the wind at the end of the age knocks over full grown trees. He showered down boulders on the rakshasa troops, as a cloud would shower flocks of birds in the forest with hail. When their heads were smashed by the shower of boulders released by Sugreeva, they fell down like shattered mountains.
While the rakshasas were being vanquished on all sides by Sugreeva and were falling over howling, Virupaksha jumped down from his chariot, proclaiming his name. Grabbing a bow, he mounted the back of an elephant. After mounting the elephant, the mighty Virupaksha roared frightfully and rushed toward the monkeys. He rained formidable arrows on Sugreeva on the front line, and consolidated the rakshasas, cheering them up. After being severely wounded by Virupaksha’s arrows, Sugreeva roared wrathfully and set his mind on killing him. Pulling up a tree and jumping forward, Sugreeva struck the huge elephant before him, upon which Virupaksha was seated. Overwhelmed by that blow, the elephant retreated to a distance of only one bow length, sank down and bellowed.
Virupaksha jumped down from his elephant, grabbed his bull-hide shield and sword, and charged toward Sugreeva, who was standing there as if to threaten him. Grabbing a huge boulder that looked like a cloud, the furious Sugreeva hurled it at Virupaksha. Seeing that boulder coming, Virupaksha jumped aside and then hit Sugreeva with his sword. Wounded by a stroke of the mighty rakshasa’s sword, Sugreeva lay on the ground for some time apparently unconscious. Jumping up suddenly and spinning his fist, Sugreeva brought it down on the rakshasa’s chest. Enraged by the wound occasioned by the blow of Sugreeva’s fist, the night-stalker destroyed Sugreeva’s armor with his sword. When Virupaksha kicked Sugreeva, the latter fell over. Jumping back up, he directed a punch at Virupaksha that sounded like thunder.
Virupaksha deftly dodged Sugreeva’s punch and then struck him in the chest. After experiencing that blow from the rakshasa, Sugreeva was looking for an opportunity to get him. Sugreeva then angrily brought his hand down on Virupaksha’s temple, The impact of Sugreeva’s hand was like Indra’s thunderbolt. Virupaksha fell on the ground drenched with blood and bleeding from all his bodily apertures, like springs gushing with water. Sugreeva saw that Virupaksha was covered with foamy blood. Because of anger, his eyes were rolling and looked very ugly. The monkeys saw their enemy soaked with blood, thrashing about and rolling over from one side to the other as he howled piteously. Closely engaged on that battlefield, the army of monkeys and that of rakshasas roared tremendously, like two oceans that had burst their shores. Seeing the mighty Virupaksha killed by King Sugreeva, the combined forces of monkeys and rakshasas looked like the Ganges River overflowing.
Thus completes 96th Chapter of Yuddha Kanda of the glorious Ramayana of Valmiki, the work of a sage and the oldest epic.
Sriman Moola Rama Vijayate
