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kamam—as You like; prayahi—You may go over my water; jahi—just conquer; visravasah—of Visrava Muni; avameham—pollution, like urine; trailokya—for the three worlds; ravanam—the person known as Ravana, the cause of weeping; avapnuhi—regain; vira—O great hero; patnim—Your wife; badhnihi—just construct; setum—a bridge; iha—here (on this water); te—of Your good self; yasasah—fame; vitatyai—to expand; gayanti—will glorify; dik-vijayinah—great heroes who have conquered all directions; yam—which (bridge); upetya—coming near; bhupah—great kings.

My Lord, You may use my water as You like. Indeed, You may cross it and go to the abode of Ravana, who is the great source of disturbance and crying for the three worlds. He is the son of Visrava, but is condemned like urine. Please go kill him and thus regain Your wife, Sitadevi. O great hero, although my water presents no impediment to Your going to Lanka, please construct a bridge over it to spread Your transcendental fame. Upon seeing this wonderfully uncommon deed of Your Lordship, all the great heroes and kings in the future will glorify You.

It is said that a son and urine emanate from the same source—the genitals. When a son is a devotee or a great learned person, the seminal discharge for begetting a son is successful, but if the son is unqualified and brings no glory to his family, he is no better than urine. Here Ravana is compared to urine because he was a cause of disturbances to the three worlds. Thus the ocean personified wanted him killed by Lord Ramacandra.

One feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Ramacandra is omnipotence. The Lord can act without regard to material impediments or inconveniences, but to prove that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and was not merely advertised as Godhead or elected by popular vote, He constructed a wonderful bridge over the ocean. Nowadays it has become fashionable to create some artificial God who performs no uncommon activities; a little magic will bewilder a foolish person into selecting an artificial God because he does not understand how powerful God is. Lord Ramacandra, however, constructed a bridge over the water with stone by making the stone float. This is proof of God’s uncommonly wonderful power. Why should someone be accepted as God without displaying extraordinary potency by doing something never to be done by any common man? We accept Lord Ramacandra as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He constructed this bridge, and we accept Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He lifted Govardhana Hill when He was only seven years old. We should not accept any rascal as God or an incarnation of God, for God displays special features in His various activities. Therefore, the Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gita (4.9):

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” The activities of the Lord are not common; they are all transcendentally wonderful and not able to be performed by any other living being. The symptoms of the Lord’s activities are all mentioned in the sastras, and after one understands them one can accept the Lord as He is.

SB9.10.16

TEXT 16

baddhvodadhau raghu-patir vividhadri-kutaih

setum kapindra-kara-kampita-bhuruhangaih

sugriva-nila-hanumat-pramukhair anikair

lankam vibhisana-drsavisad agra-dagdham

baddhva—after constructing; udadhau—in the water of the ocean; raghu-patih—Lord Ramacandra; vividha—varieties of; adri-kutaih—with peaks of great mountains; setum—a bridge; kapi-indra—of powerful monkeys; kara-kampita—moved by the great hands; bhuruha-angaih—with the trees and plants; sugriva—Sugriva; nila—Nila; hanumat—Hanuman; pramukhaih—led by; anikaih—with such soldiers; lankam—Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana; vibhisana-drsa—by the direction of Vibhisana, the brother of Ravana; avisat—entered; agra-dagdham—which was previously burnt (by the monkey soldier Hanuman).

Sukadeva Gosvami said: After constructing a bridge over the ocean by throwing into the water the peaks of mountains whose trees and other vegetation had been shaken by the hands of great monkeys, Lord Ramacandra went to Lanka to release Sitadevi from the clutches of Ravana. With the direction and help of Vibhisana, Ravana’s brother, the Lord, along with the monkey soldiers, headed by Sugriva, Nila and Hanuman, entered Ravana’s kingdom, Lanka, which had previously been burnt by Hanuman.

sa vanarendra-bala-ruddha-vihara-kostha-

Great mountain peaks covered with trees and plants were thrown into the sea by the monkey soldiers and began to float by the supreme will of the Lord. By the supreme will of the Lord, many great planets float weightlessly in space like swabs of cotton. If this is possible, why should great mountain peaks not be able to float on water? This is the omnipotence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He can do anything and everything He likes, because He is not under the control of the material nature; indeed, material nature is controlled by Him. Mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sacaracaram: [Bg. 9.10] only under His direction does prakrti, or material nature, work. Similar information is given in the Brahma-samhita (5.52):

yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

Describing how material nature works, the Brahma-samhita says that the sun moves as desired by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently, for Lord Ramacandra to construct a bridge over the Indian Ocean with the help of monkey soldiers who threw great mountain peaks into the water is not at all wonderful; it is wonderful only in the sense that it has kept the name and fame of Lord Ramacandra eternally celebrated.

SB9.10.17

TEXT 17

sri-dvara-gopura-sado-valabhi-vitanka

nirbhajyamana-dhisana-dhvaja-hema-kumbha-

srngataka gaja-kulair hradiniva ghurna

sa—the place known as Lanka; vanara-indra—of the great chiefs of the monkeys; bala—by the strength; ruddha—stopped, encircled; vihara—pleasure houses; kostha—the places where food grains were stocked; sri—the treasury houses; dvara—the doors of palaces; gopura—the gates of the city; sadah—the assembly houses; valabhi—the frontage of great palaces; vitanka—the rest houses for the pigeons; nirbhajyamana—in the process of being dismantled; dhisana—platforms; dhvaja—the flags; hema-kumbha—golden waterpots on the domes; srngataka—and the crossroads; gaja-kulaih—by herds of elephants; hradini—a river; iva—like; ghurna—agitated.

After entering Lanka, the monkey soldiers, led by chiefs like Sugriva, Nila and Hanuman, occupied all the sporting houses, granaries, treasuries, palace doorways, city gates, assembly houses, palace frontages and even the resting houses of the pigeons. When the city’s crossroads, platforms, flags and golden waterpots on its domes were all destroyed, the entire city of Lanka appeared like a river disturbed by a herd of elephants.

SB9.10.18

TEXT 18

raksah-patis tad avalokya nikumbha-kumbha-

dhumraksa-durmukha-surantaka-narantakadin

putram prahastam atikaya-vikampanadin

sarvanugan samahinod atha kumbhakarnam

SYNONYMS

raksah-patih—the master of the Raksasas (Ravana); tat—such disturbances; avalokya—after seeing; nikumbha—Nikumbha; kumbha—Kumbha; dhumraksa—Dhumraksa; durmukha—Durmukha; surantaka—Surantaka; narantaka—Narantaka; adin—all of them together; putram—his son, Indrajit; prahastam—Prahasta; atikaya—Atikaya; vikampana—Vikampana; adin—all of them together; sarva-anugan—all followers of Ravana; samahinot—ordered (to fight with the enemies); atha—at last; kumbhakarnam—Kumbhakarna, the most important brother.

TRANSLATION

When Ravana, the master of the Raksasas, saw the disturbances created by the monkey soldiers, he called for Nikumbha, Kumbha, Dhumraksa, Durmukha, Surantaka, Narantaka and other Raksasas and also his son Indrajit. Thereafter he called for Prahasta, Atikaya, Vikampana and finally Kumbhakarna. Then he induced all his followers to fight against the enemies.

SB9.10.19

TEXT 19

tam yatudhana-prtanam asi-sula-capa-

prasarsti-saktisara-tomara-khadga-durgam

sugriva-laksmana-marutsuta-gandhamada-

nilangadarksa-panasadibhir anvito ’gat

SYNONYMS

tam—all of them; yatudhana-prtanam—the soldiers of the Raksasas; asi—by swords; sula—by lances; capa—by bows; prasa-rsti—prasa weapons and rsti weapons; sakti-sara—sakti arrows; tomara—tomara weapons; khadga—by a type of sword; durgam—all invincible; sugriva—by the monkey named Sugriva; laksmana—by Lord Ramacandra’s younger brother; marut-suta—by Hanuman; gandhamada—by Gandhamada, another monkey; nila—by the monkey named Nila; angada—Angada; rksa—Rksa; panasa—Panasa; adibhih—and by other soldiers; anvitah—being surrounded, Lord Ramacandra; agat—came in front of (for the sake of fighting).

TRANSLATION

Lord Ramacandra, surrounded by Laksmana and monkey soldiers like Sugriva, Hanuman, Gandhamada, Nila, Angada, Jambavan and Panasa, attacked the soldiers of the Raksasas, who were fully equipped with various invincible weapons like swords, lances, bows, prasas, rstis, sakti arrows, khadgas and tomaras.

SB9.10.20

TEXT 20

te ’nikapa raghupater abhipatya sarve

dvandvam varutham ibha-patti-rathasva-yodhaih

jaghnur drumair giri-gadesubhir angadadyah

sitabhimarsa-hata-mangala-ravanesan

SYNONYMS

te—all of them; anika-pah—the commanders of the soldiers; raghupateh—of Lord Sri Ramacandra; abhipatya—chasing the enemy; sarve—all of them; dvandvam—fighting; varutham—the soldiers of Ravana; ibha—by elephants; patti—by infantry; ratha—by chariots; asva—by horses; yodhaih—by such warriors; jaghnuh—killed them; drumaih—by throwing big trees; giri—by peaks of mountains; gada—by clubs; isubhih—by arrows; angada-adyah—all the soldiers of Lord Ramacandra, headed by Angada and others; sita—of mother Sita; abhimarsa—by the anger; hata—had been condemned; mangala—whose auspiciousness; ravana-isan—the followers or dependents of Ravana.

TRANSLATION

Angada and the other commanders of the soldiers of Ramacandra faced the elephants, infantry, horses and chariots of the enemy and hurled against them big trees, mountain peaks, clubs and arrows. Thus the soldiers of Lord Ramacandra killed Ravana’s soldiers, who had lost all good fortune because Ravana had been condemned by the anger of mother Sita.

PURPORT

The soldiers Lord Ramacandra recruited in the jungle were all monkeys and did not have proper equipment with which to fight the soldiers of Ravana, for Ravana’s soldiers were equipped with weapons of modern warfare whereas the monkeys could only throw stones, mountain peaks and trees. It was only Lord Ramacandra and Laksmana who shot some arrows. But because the soldiers of Ravana were condemned by the curse of mother Sita, the monkeys were able to kill them simply by throwing stones and trees. There are two kinds of strength—daiva and purusakara. Daiva refers to the strength achieved from the Transcendence, and purusakara refers to the strength organized by one’s own intelligence and power. Transcendental power is always superior to the power of the materialist. Depending on the mercy of the Supreme Lord, one must fight one’s enemies even though one may not be equipped with modern weapons. Therefore Krsna instructed Arjuna, mam anusmara yudhya ca: [Bg. 8.7] “Think of Me and fight.” We should fight our enemy to the best of our ability, but for victory we must depend on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB9.10.21

TEXT 21

raksah-patih sva-bala-nastim aveksya rusta

aruhya yanakam athabhisasara ramam

svah-syandane dyumati matalinopanite

vibhrajamanam ahanan nisitaih ksurapraih

raksah-patih—the leader of the Raksasas, Ravana; sva-bala-nastim—the destruction of his own soldiers; aveksya—after observing; rustah—became very angry; aruhya—riding on; yanakam—his beautiful airplane decorated with flowers; atha—thereafter; abhisasara—proceeded toward; ramam—Lord Ramacandra; svah-syandane—in the celestial chariot of Indra; dyumati—glittering; matalina—by Matali, the chariot driver of Indra; upanite—having been brought; vibhrajamanam—Lord Ramacandra, as if brilliantly illuminating; ahanat—Ravana struck him; nisitaih—very sharp; ksurapraih—with arrows.

Thereafter, when Ravana, the king of the Raksasas, observed that his soldiers had been lost, he was extremely angry. Thus he mounted his airplane, which was decorated with flowers, and proceeded toward Lord Ramacandra, who sat on the effulgent chariot brought by Matali, the chariot driver of Indra. Then Ravana struck Lord Ramacandra with sharp arrows.

SB9.10.22

TEXT 22

ramas tam aha purusada-purisa yan nah

kantasamaksam asatapahrta svavat te

tyakta-trapasya phalam adya jugupsitasya

yacchami kala iva kartur alanghya-viryah

SYNONYMS

ramah—Lord Ramacandra; tam—unto him, Ravana; aha—said; purusa-ada-purisa—you are the stool of the man-eaters (Raksasas); yat—because; nah—My; kanta—wife; asamaksam—helpless because of My absence; asata—by you, the most sinful; apahrta—was kidnapped; sva-vat—like a dog who takes food from the kitchen in the absence of the proprietor; te—of you; tyakta-trapasya—because you are shameless; phalam adya—I shall give you the result today; jugupsitasya—of you, the most abominable; yacchami—I shall punish you; kalah iva—like death; kartuh—of you, who are the performer of all sinful activities; alanghya-viryah—but I, being omnipotent, never fail in My attempt.

TRANSLATION

Lord Ramacandra said to Ravana: You are the most abominable of the man-eaters. Indeed, you are like their stool. You resemble a dog, for as a dog steals eatables from the kitchen in the absence of the householder, in My absence you kidnapped My wife, Sitadevi. Therefore as Yamaraja punishes sinful men, I shall also punish you. You are most abominable, sinful and shameless. Today, therefore, I, whose attempt never fails, shall punish you.

PURPORT

Na ca daivat param balam: no one can surpass the strength of the Transcendence. Ravana was so sinful and shameless that he did not know what the result would be of kidnapping mother Sita, the pleasure potency of Ramacandra. This is the disqualification of the Raksasas. Asatyam apratistham te jagad ahur anisvaram [Bg. 16.8]. The Raksasas are unaware that the Supreme Lord is the ruler of the creation. They think that everything has come about by chance or accident and that there is no ruler, king or controller. Therefore the Raksasas act independently, as they like, going even so far as to kidnap the goddess of fortune. This policy of Ravana’s is extremely dangerous for the materialist; indeed, it brings ruin to the materialistic civilization. Nonetheless, because atheists are Raksasas, they dare to do things that are most abominable, and thus they are punished without fail. Religion consists of the orders of the Supreme Lord, and one who carries out these orders is religious. One who fails to carry out the Lord’s orders is irreligious, and he is to be punished.

SB9.10.23

TEXT 23

evam ksipan dhanusi sandhitam utsasarja

banam sa vajram iva tad-dhrdayam bibheda

so ’srg vaman dasa-mukhair nyapatad vimanad

dhaheti jalpati jane sukrtiva riktah

evam—in this way; ksipan—chastising (Ravana); dhanusi—on the bow; sandhitam—fixed an arrow; utsasarja—released (toward him); banam—the arrow; sah—that arrow; vajram iva—like a thunderbolt; tat-hrdayam—the heart of Ravana; bibheda—pierced; sah—he, Ravana; asrk—blood; vaman—vomiting; dasa-mukhaih—through the ten mouths; nyapatat—fell down; vimanat—from his airplane; haha—alas, what happened; iti—thus; jalpati—roaring; jane—when all the people present there; sukrti iva—like a pious man; riktah—when the results of his pious activities are finished.

After thus rebuking Ravana, Lord Ramacandra fixed an arrow to His bow, aimed at Ravana, and released the arrow, which pierced Ravana’s heart like a thunderbolt. Upon seeing this, Ravana’s followers raised a tumultuous sound, crying, “Alas! Alas! What has happened? What has happened?” as Ravana, vomiting blood from his ten mouths, fell from his airplane, just as a pious man falls to earth from the heavenly planets when the results of his pious activities are exhausted.

In Bhagavad-gita (9.21) it is said, ksine punye martya-lokam visanti: “When the results of their pious activities are exhausted, those who have enjoyed in the heavenly planets fall again to earth.” The fruitive activities of this material world are such that whether one acts piously or impiously one must remain within the material world according to different conditions, for neither pious nor impious actions can relieve one from maya’s clutches of repeated birth and death. Somehow or other, Ravana was raised to an exalted position as the king of a great kingdom with all material opulences, but because of his sinful act of kidnapping mother Sita, all the results of his pious activities were destroyed. If one offends an exalted personality, especially the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one certainly becomes most abominable; bereft of the results of pious activities, one must fall down like Ravana and other demons. It is therefore advised that one transcend both pious and impious activities and remain in the pure state of freedom from all designations (sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam [Cc. Madhya 19.170]). When one is fixed in devotional service, he is above the material platform. On the material platform there are higher and lower positions, but when one is above the material platform he is always fixed in a spiritual position (sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]). Ravana or those like him may be very powerful and opulent in this material world, but theirs is not a secure position, because, after all, they are bound by the results of their karma (karmana daiva-netrena). We should not forget that we are completely dependent on the laws of nature.

prakrteh kriyamanani
gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara-vimudhatma
kartaham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Bg. 3.27) One should not be proud of one’s exalted position and act like Ravana, thinking oneself independent of material nature’s laws.

SB9.10.24

TEXT 24

tato niskramya lankaya

yatudhanyah sahasrasah

mandodarya samam tatra

prarudantya upadravan

tatah—thereafter; niskramya—coming out; lankayah—from Lanka; yatudhanyah—the wives of the Raksasas; sahasrasah—by thousands and thousands; mandodarya—headed by Mandodari, the wife of Ravana; samam—with; tatra—there; prarudantyah—crying in lamentation; upadravan—came near (their dead husbands).

Thereafter, all the women whose husbands had fallen in the battle, headed by Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, came out of Lanka. Continuously crying, they approached the dead bodies of Ravana and the other Raksasas.

SB9.10.25

TEXT 25

svan svan bandhun parisvajya

laksmanesubhir arditan

ruruduh susvaram dina

ghnantya atmanam atmana

SYNONYMS

svan svan—their own respective husbands; bandhun—friends; parisvajya—embracing; laksmana-isubhih—by the arrows of Laksmana; arditan—who were killed; ruruduh—all the wives cried piteously; su-svaram—it was very sweet to hear; dinah—very poor; ghnantyah—striking; atmanam—their breasts; atmana—by themselves.

TRANSLATION

Striking their breasts in affliction because their husbands had been killed by the arrows of Laksmana, the women embraced their respective husbands and cried piteously in voices appealing to everyone.

SB9.10.26

TEXT 26

ha hatah sma vayam natha

loka-ravana ravana

kam yayac charanam lanka

tvad-vihina parardita

SYNONYMS

ha—alas; hatah—killed; sma—in the past; vayam—all of us; natha—O protector; loka-ravana—O husband, who created the crying of so many other people; ravana—O Ravana, one who can cause crying of others; kam—unto whom; yayat—will go; saranam—shelter; lanka—the state of Lanka; tvat-vihina—being bereft of your good self; para-ardita—being defeated by the enemies.

TRANSLATION

O my lord, O master! You epitomized trouble for others, and therefore you were called Ravana. But now that you have been defeated, we also are defeated, for without you the state of Lanka has been conquered by the enemy. To whom will it go for shelter?

PURPORT

Ravana’s wife Mandodari and the other wives knew very well how cruel a person Ravana was. The very word “Ravana” means “one who causes crying for others.” Ravana continuously caused trouble for others, but when his sinful activities culminated in giving trouble to Sitadevi, he was killed by Lord Ramacandra.

SB9.10.27

TEXT 27

na vai veda maha-bhaga

bhavan kama-vasam gatah

tejo ’nubhavam sitaya

yena nito dasam imam

na—not; vai—indeed; veda—did know; maha-bhaga—O greatly fortunate one; bhavan—yourself; kama-vasam—influenced by lusty desires; gatah—having become; tejah—by influence; anubhavam—as a result of such influence; sitayah—of mother Sita; yena—by which; nitah—brought into; dasam—condition; imam—like this (destruction).

O greatly fortunate one, you came under the influence of lusty desires, and therefore you could not understand the influence of mother Sita. Now, because of her curse, you have been reduced to this state, having been killed by Lord Ramacandra.

Not only was mother Sita powerful, but any woman who follows in the footsteps of mother Sita can also become similarly powerful. There are many instances of this in the history of Vedic literature. Whenever we find a description of ideal chaste women, mother Sita is among them. Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, was also very chaste. Similarly, Draupadi was one of five exalted chaste women. As a man must follow great personalities like Brahma and Narada, a woman must follow the path of such ideal women as Sita, Mandodari and Draupadi. By staying chaste and faithful to her husband, a woman enriches herself with supernatural power. It is a moral principle that one should not be influenced by lusty desires for another’s wife. Matrvat para-daresu: an intelligent person must look upon another’s wife as being like his mother. This is a moral injunction from Canakya-sloka (10).

matrvat para-daresu
para-dravyesu lostravat
atmavat sarva-bhutesu
yah pasyati sa panditah

“One who considers another’s wife as his mother, another’s possessions as a lump of dirt and treats all other living beings as he would himself, is considered to be learned.” Thus Ravana was condemned not only by Lord Ramacandra but even by his own wife, Mandodari. Because she was a chaste woman, she knew the power of another chaste woman, especially such a wife as mother Sitadevi.

SB9.10.28

TEXT 28

krtaisa vidhava lanka

vayam ca kula-nandana

dehah krto ’nnam grdhranam

atma naraka-hetave

krta—made by you; esa—all of this; vidhava—without a protector; lanka—the state of Lanka; vayam ca—and us; kula-nandana—O pleasure of the Raksasas; dehah—the body; krtah—made by you; annam—eatable; grdhranam—of the vultures; atma—and your soul; naraka-hetave—for going to hell.

O pleasure of the Raksasa dynasty, because of you the state of Lanka and also we ourselves now have no protector. By your deeds you have made your body fit to be eaten by vultures and your soul fit to go to hell.