THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA
BALA KANDA
¢v|S: sgI:
Canto 20(Contd)
dSrTÞy p#ÏyaÁyanm¯
The reluctant
plea of Dasaratha
s
Ïv| p#sad| DmIM kâÝv
mm p¤æOkE .
mm
cWvaÚpBaÂyÞy dWvt| ¢h Bvan¯
g¤â: ¡21¡
| DmIM
|
the knower of righteousness |
| AÚpBaÂyÞy
|
of little good luck |
| Bvan¯
|
your goodself (are) |
O! Knower of
right conduct! You are my
preceptor and my very God
for this one of poor luck!
Because of that stature,
may you show compassion on
my tender son! (21).
dEvdanvgÓDvaI
yXa: ptgp°ga: .
n
S³a ravN| saEF¤| ¢k|
p¤nmaInva y¤¢D ¡22¡
The host of
gods, semi-divine Gandharvas, demons,
Yakshas, birds or
reptiles are not capable
of handling Ravana and as
such, what to speak of ordinary
humans locked in combat
with him ? (22)
s
¢h v£yIvta| v£yImadäOE y¤¢D
raXs: .
tEnah|
nWv S³aE{¢Þm s|yaEÑG|
tÞy va blW: ¡
sblaE
va m¤¢n½E¿ s¢htaE va
mmaÏmjW: ¡23¡
| m¤¢n½E¿
|
O! Best among
sages |
That demon gobbles
up the strength and valour
of the valorous in battle.
Therefore, O! Best among
sages! Either against him
or his armed forces, either
myself along wih my army
or with my sons, I
will not be equal to wage
a battle (23).
kTmÔymrp#Áy|
s|g#amaNamkaE¢vdm¯ .
bal|
mE tny| b#'°Wv daÞya¢m
p¤æOkm¯ ¡24¡
| Amrp#Áy|
|
on par with
gods |
By no means,
therefore, O! Realised One!
will I send forth my
son of tender age, who is
yet a boy and the
source for expansion of
my lineage, who is god-like
and inexperienced in warfare
(24).
AT
kalaEpmaW y¤ÑGE s¤taW s¤ÓdaEps¤ÓdyaE:
.
yM¢vG"kraW
tEn nWv daÞya¢m p¤æOkm¯
¡25¡
| kalaEpmaW
|
comparable to the god of
death |
Further, these
two, bent upon destroying
(your) sacrifice are the
sons of Sunda and Upasunda,
who resemble the God of Death
in the battlefield and as
such, I will not send
with you my son, who
is but a boy (25).
taW
t¤ raXskÓyaya| jataW dWÏyklaE¹haW
.
mar£cà
s¤bah^à v£yIvÓtaW s¤¢S¢XtaW
¡26¡
| raXskÓyaya|
|
in a demoniac
dame |
| dWÏykl
|
the clan of demons |
Those two-Maricha
and Subahu- are born through
(a) demoness to proliferate the demoniac
population and both are valiant
and well-trained (26).
tyaErÓytrENah|
yaEÑGa Þya| ss¤¶éN:
.
AÓyTa
Ïvn¤nEÝya¢m BvÓt| shbaÓDv: ¡27¡
| ss¤¶éN:
|
in the company
of groups of friends |
| shbaÓDv:
|
in the company of my
relatives |
I shall engage
in battle one of the
two, in the company of
my associates. Otherwise I supplicate to
thee, along with my relatives'
(27).
i¢t nrp¢tjÚpnad¢¹jEÓd#|
k¢Sks¤t| s¤mhan¯ ¢vvES mÓy¤:.
s¤h^t
iv mKE{¢g"raÇy¢s³: smBvѤÇÇv¢lta mh¢xIv¢þ:¡ 28¡
| ¢¹jEÓd#|
|
the best among
twiceborns (that noble sage) |
| AaÇy¢s³:
|
with oblations of
ghee (clarified butter) |
| mh¢xIv¢þ:
|
the ire of
the sage |
On account of
these prattlings by the master
of men, great rage entered
the son of Kusika and
the best among Brahmins.
Like the sacrificial fire being
inflamed through feeding it
with ghee, the sage became
fiery and inflamed thereupon (due
to ire) (28).
iÏyaxI ½£md#amayNE vaÚm£k£yE Aa¢dkaÛyE
balkaÎfE ¢v|S: sgI:¡20¡
Thus ends canto
twenty of the Bala kanda
of the first and ancient poetical work
Srimad Ramayana of Valmiki
PROCEED TO SARGA 21
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