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The Defeat of Dhoomraksha
But in their lust of battle shouted loud, Rejoicing, all the Apes when they beheld The dreadful Rakshas coming forth to war, Dhoomraksha. High the din of mellay rose, Giant and Ape with tree and spear and mace Smiting each other; for the Giants hewed Their dire opponents down on every side, And they too with the trunks of trees bore down Their monstrous foes and levelled with the dust. But in their wrath increasing Lanca’s hosts Pierced the invaders; straight their arrows flew Unswerving, fatal, heron-winged; sharp-knobbed Their maces smote and dreadful clubs prevailed; The curious tridents did their work. But torn, But mangled by the shafts, but pierced with spears The Apes in act heroic, unalarmed, Drew boldness from impatience of defeat; Trees from the earth they plucked, lifted great rocks And with a dreadful speed, roaring aloud, Hurling their shouted names behind the blow, They slew with these the heroes of the isle. Down fell the Giants crushed and from their mouths Vomited lifeblood, pounded were by rocks And with crushed sides collapsed or by ape-teeth Were mangled, or lay in heaps by trees o’erborne. Some with sad faces tore their locks in grief, Bewildered with the smell of blood and death Some lifeless sank upon the earth. Enraged Dhoomraksha saw the rout and forward stormed And made a mighty havoc of the foe, Crushing to earth their bleeding forms with axe
Page – 27 And javelin and mace oppressed or torn. Some helpless died, some gave their blood to earth, Some scattering fled the fierce pursuer’s wrath, Some with torn hearts slept on one side relaxed On earth’s soft bosom, some with entrails plucked Out of their bodies by the tridents died Wretchedly. Sweet twanged the bowstrings, lyres of war, The sobbing of the warriors’ breath was time And with a thunder dull, battle delivered Its dread orchestral music. In the front Of all that war Dhoomraksha thundered armed, Laughing aloud, and with fast-sleeting shafts Scattered to every wind his foes. At last The Son of Tempest saw his army’s rout Astonished by Dhoomraksha; wroth he saw And came, carrying a giant crag he came, Red-gazing, and with all his father’s force At dire Dhoomraksha’s chariot hurled. Alarmed Dhoomraksha saw the flying boulder come And rearing up his club from the high car He leaped. Down crashed the rock and ground the car To pieces, wheel and flag and pole and yoke And the forsaken bow. Hanuman too Abandoning his chariot through the ranks Opposing strode with havoc; trees unlopped With all their boughs for mace and club he used. With shattered heads and bodies oozing blood The Giants fell before him. Scattering so The Giant army Hanuman, the Wind’s Tremendous son, took easily in his hands A mountain’s mighty top and ran and strode Where stood Dhoomraksha. Roaring answer loud The mighty Giant with his club upreared Came furiously to meet the advancing foe. Wrathful the heroes met, and on the head Of Hanuman the weapon many-spiked Of dire Dhoomraksha fell; but he the Ape,
Page – 28 Strong in inheritance of might divine, Not even heeded such a blow, but brought Right on Dhoomraksha’s crown the summit huge And all his limbs were shattered with the stroke And like a broken mountain they collapsed Earthward, o’erwhelmed, in-smitten, prone. The Giants left, Survivors of that slaughter, fled alarmed And entered Lanca by the Apes pursued And butchered as they fled. But from that fight Victorious, weary, rested Hanuman Amid his slaughtered foemen and engirt With the red rivers he had made to flow, Praised by the host, rejoicing in his wounds.
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