Ramayan Part 26 - Soorpanaka, Ravan's Sister Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

On their way to Panchavati,
Perched on a big tree,
Jatayu, the giant vulture,
They met this huge figure.

“Sita I shall look after,
When alone you leave her
For the hunt you go for, ”
The vulture made a voluntary offer.

The bird’s offer Ram accepted,
With gratitude and proceeded,
On their onward journey,
To the destination Panchavati.

Lakshman built an Ashram,
On the site chosen by Ram,
With Trees, River, Birds,
Clean sand and flowers.

One fine morning, early winter,
They went to Godavari River,
For their bath, their prayer,
And their needs of water.

On the way they saw a woman,
Soorpanakha, the female demon,
The sister of demon king Ravan
Who was a terror in that region.

“The moment I saw you,
I fell in love with you,
Don’t mind your wife,
I can take away her life.”

“Why should you wander,
In the forest here and there?
I can take any shape I desire,
We can, as couples, live here.”

So saying she pounced on Sita,
But was stopped by Rama,
Who told her, in the present life,
He vowed to have only one wife.

He directed her to Lakshman,
Purposely with an intention,
That some proper action
He would take to mend her.

Lakshman took his dagger,
He maimed the nose of her.
She ran to Khara, his brother,
To show what was done to her.

His generals Khara ordered,
“Bring their bodies dead,
For offending my sister,
And drag Sita alive here.”

The generals, no surprise,
Ram killed them all in a trice.
Next she brought her brother,
With a big army together.

Like rays from the sun,
Ram’s arrows one by one,
Went at the speed of light,
In his relentless fight.

They went in all directions,
Destroyed warriors, chariots,
Horses and elephants,
Pierced demons’ bodies.

Finally a fierce battle arose,
When Ram came across
Khara, the powerful demon,
Who was also to death done.

When the human form,
The Almighty does assume,
He gets limitless power,
It’s, at all, no wonder!