55. THE TERRIBLE ENVOY :

THE Rakshasa warriors saw with
amazement a mighty Vanara seated on the
garden gate, who at their approach grew
to still bigger size and formidable menace.


"Oh! You have come, have you?" he
said and, jumping down, brandished his
tail, and striking the ground with it, roared
till the four quarters shook. He snatched
the huge iron bar from the gate and, armed
with this weapon, began to attack them
all.


He sprang and leaped in all directions
and, whirling the iron rod, struck the
Rakshasas down, one by one. After
finishing them thus, he resumed his seat
on the top of the pillared entrance, and
roared once again.


"Long live Rama! Long live
Lakshmana!" he loudly proclaimed.
"Long live King Sugriva! Oh! Ye
Rakshasas of Lanka, your doom are near.
The great warriors Rama and Lakshmana
and King Sugriva have sent me here to
destroy you. Come on in your thousands. I
stand here ready to hurl you to
destruction. I have saluted Sita and
received her blessings. And now I am
going to destroy your city!"


All Lanka heard the thunder of his
words and quaked in terror. When the
news reached Ravana that the warriors
sent against Hanuman were all slain, he
opened wide his fierce eyes in amazement
and wrath.


"What is it you say?" he yelled, and
called Jambumali, the matchless warrior,
son of Prahasta. And be said to him. "Go
at once! Punish this monkey and report to
me."


The Rakshasa Jambumali took some
time to put on armor and to take up
weapons and get ready to meet his foe.


Meanwhile, Hanuman was not sitting still.
He climbed to the top of a temple in the
park and stood there, shining against the
horizon like a second sun suddenly risen
in the sky. He magnified his body still
further and looked like a golden mountain
range up in the heavens.


His roar filled the city of Lanka and
raised echoes from all the eight quarters.
The hearts of the Rakshasas trembled in
fear.


"Long live Rama! Long live 
Lakshmana! Long live King Sugriva! I
have come as an envoy of the King of
Kosala. I have come to destroy Lanka. I
am Hanuman, son of Vayu, come here to
utterly destroy the enemies of Rama. I
have vowed before Sita and received her
blessings. Know that I possess the
strength to vanquish a thousand Ravanas.


Big boulders and uprooted trees I shall
aim at the Rakshasas and destroy them.
That is what I have come here for!"
The sentries in the temple took up
various weapons and attacked him.


Hanuman jumped down and plucked up a
big pillar, supporting the temple, and
stood there like the destroyer. Whirling
his massive weapon easily as though it
was a willow wand, Hanuman struck
down and slew the sentries. The temple,
from which the pillar had been removed,
collapsed. As Hanuman struck the ground
with the pillar, sparks of fire flew all
around.


"In Sugriva's army there are monkeys
much mightier than I and they will soon
be here," he roared. "You and your king
and your city will be destroyed by them,
root and branch. Your king has incurred
the enmity of the Lord of the Ikshvaku
race, has he not? Lanka is nearing its end.


Destruction awaits the Rakshasas. The
God of Death is approaching Ravana."
Jambumali arrived at last. With wide,
glaring eyes and ugly, irregular teeth
dressed in scarlet, with large golden rings
in his ears, bow in hand, garland round his
neck, sword at his hip, he came in a
chariot rattling like thunder. Hanuman set
eyes on the chariot dragged by enormous
mules. And he got ready.


Seated in his chariot, Jambumali bent
his bow and aimed a few arrows at Maruti
who was seated on the wall. They
wounded his face and drew blood, which
added to the beauty of his face. It was as if
a red lotus had suddenly blossomed in the
heavens. The wounds enraged Hanuman,
who picked up a big boulder and flung it
at the chariot.


He uprooted a sal tree and, twirling it,
flung it at Jambumali. Then he plucked
out a huge iron rod from the temple and
aimed it at the chariot and reduced it to
splinters and crushed the huge body of
Jambumali into a shapeless mass, in
which neither head nor limbs could be
distinguished.


The issue of this battle was duly
reported to Ravana. He was struck with
wonder. ""This is indeed something
strange," he said to himself. "This
murderous brute is not an animal,
certainly not a mere monkey. It is some
new creature devised by my old enemies
the gods to annoy me."


And be ordered mighty commanders to
go with a great army to capture the
creature and produce it before him.


The Rakshasa chiefs went forth in a
great array of chariots. In full force they
attacked Hanuman, who was as before
stationed on top of the entrance and was
laughing aloud in disdainful unconcern.


They showered missiles on him that
mostly glanced harmlessly off his
adamantine frame. With each dart or
arrow that struck him, he grew in stature
and fierceness. And ranging all round with
energy pelted them with rocks and huge
tree boles, till all the leaders lay crushed
and slain, and the survivors fled in panic
and despair.


Having killed or put to fight the entire
contingent of Rakshasas, Hanuman roared
in triumph and Lanka trembled at the roar.
He resumed his seat on the stonebattlement
on the top of the garden-gate.


Hearing of the defeat of the force sent to
capture Hanuman and the slaughter of five
of his best commanders, fear for the first
time entered Ravana's heart. "It is
extraordinary that a solitary monkey
should have this devastating valor and
purposeful malevolence," Ravana thought
with anxiety. "This is clearly a conspiracy
of the gods."


But he kept his concern to himself and
laughed derisively. He looked round at all
the members of his great council. His son
the heroic Aksha stood foremost, eager for
battle, and the proud father bade him go
forth to battle against the tremendous foe.


Radiant with youth and health and
glowing with high courage at this
opportunity of distinguishing himself,
Aksha went forth in a shining chariot,
confident of victory.


NEXT : 56. HANUMAN BOUND


Continues...