Part 13: Rāma’s aid to Janaka

Then Janaka’s territory was attacked by many kings of the Ardhabarbaras,^[1] Ātaraṅgatama, et cetera, equal to demons. Unable to stop them like floods at the end of the world, the King of Mithilā sent a messenger to summon Daśaratha. Aikṣvāka (Daśaratha) summoned the messenger who had come in haste, seated him before him with favor, and said, noble-minded:

“I think from your coming that there is unique friendship on the part of our friend, though far away, toward me, like that of an ocean for the moon. I hope there is prosperity to the realm, city, clan, army, his own self, and everything else of the lord of Mithilā. Tell me the reason for your coming.”

The messenger said: “Though there are many respected friends of my lord, you alone are the heart of your friend, or the Soul, long-armed one. Since you are always concerned with Janaka’s good and bad fortune, now in time of distress you are recalled by him, like a family-divinity. To the south of Mt. Vaitāḍhya and to the north of Kailāsa there are many unaryan countries with terrifying people. Among these there is a country named Ardhabarbara, like a family of barbarians, exceedingly cruel with men of cruel customs. In the city Mayūramāla, the ornament of this country, there is a cruel Mleccha-king, Ātaraṅgatama. His sons by the thousands have become kings and enjoy territories also, Śuka, Maṅkana, Kāmboja, et cetera. Now. Ātaraṅga, surrounded on all sides by them as commanders of inexhaustible complete armies, ravages Janaka’s country. Hard-hearted, they destroy the shrines everywhere. For from birth the destruction of dharma is dearer to them than wealth. So rescue dharma and Janaka continually beloved. You have become their life.”

As soon as Daśaratha heard this, he had the war-drum beaten. For the noble do not hesitate at all in the rescue of the noble. Then Rāma said to Daśaratha: “If my father goes himself to destroy the Mlecchas, what will Rāma and his younger brothers do? Is it from affection for his sons, or am I considered incompetent by the father? Surely from the birth of Bharata heroic deeds have been accomplished by members of the Ikṣvākus. Be gracious! Stop! Command me to destroy the Mlecchas. Soon you will hear, master, the news of the victory of your son.”

After obtaining his father’s consent with difficulty in this way, Rāma and his younger brothers, surrounded by the army, went to the city Mithilā. Near the city Rāma saw the Mleccha-soldiers like yaks,^[2] leopards, tigers, and lions in a large forest. The Mlecchas, whose arms were itching for battle, with the semblance of conquerors, very powerful, began to rush at Rāma quickly. At the same time Rāma’s army was blinded immediately by their missiles like dust blown up from the earth by great winds that have arisen. His soldiers thinking themselves conquered, his enemies thinking themselves victorious, Janaka thinking himself dead, the people thinking themselves destroyed, Rāma, thinking himself ridiculed, strung his bow, •twanged the bow-string, the drum to the play of battle. Like a god who has come to earth, Rāma pierced them with his missiles by the crores, like a hunter shooting deer, without doing any damage to the earth.

“This Janaka is a wretched creature; his army is like flies; this army that came to assist him was reduced to a miserable state in the beginning. Say, where are these arrows, covering the sky like garuḍas, coming from?” saying to each other, Ātaraṅga and the other Mleccha-kings, angered and astonished, raining arrows at the same time, charged against Rāma. Rāghava, who hit from a distance, who struck firmly, who shot quickly, destroyed the Mlecchas easily, like a śarabha destroying elephants. The Mlecchas fled here and there like crows, and Janaka, together with the people of the country, became secure.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

I.e. half-barbarians, Mlecchas.

[2]:

Deer (the Lex. definition of camūru) do not seem very suitable in this category. According to the Abhi. 4. 360, com. the camūru has a large neck, a white mane and tail. Muni Puṇyavijayaji takes it as = camara, yak, which does fight.