Yuddha Kanda · Sarga 64 of 128 · 36 verses
Mahodara’s Scheme
Hearing huge Kumbhakarna’s words, Mahodara retorts: you are born of a noble family but you are bold and vulgar in your views; proud, you cannot understand what must be done. The king knows good and bad policy; you only want to talk, bold since boyhood. The bull among rakshasas knows position, growth and loss, place and time, for himself and others. What wise man would do what a strong but common-minded man, who has never served the elders, says? You speak of dharma, profit and pleasure as separate things; you lack the marks to understand them. Action is the purpose of all motives; good and evil deeds bear their fruit here; dharma and profit lead to the highest good, adharma and harm to ruin; men act for this world and the next, but pleasure-seekers too gain good things. What the king has decided is in our hearts too; what is wrong with daring against an enemy? And your reason for going alone is unsound: how will you alone defeat Raghava, who killed so many mighty rakshasas in Janasthana? Do you not see those he defeated there, terrified in our city now? You want to wake a sleeping snake, an angry lion. Who can approach one who blazes with splendour and anger like Death? Facing this enemy, everything is in doubt; I do not like your going alone at all.
Then Mahodara tells Ravana: why delay with Vaidehi in front of you? If you wish, Sita will be yours. I have a plan to bring her to you. Proclaim that five of us, I, Dvijihva, Samhradi, Kumbhakarna and Vitardana, are going out to kill Rama. We will fight him with effort; if we win, there is no need for stratagems. If the enemy lives and we have fought, we will come back drenched in blood, our bodies torn by arrows marked with Rama’s name, saying, “We have eaten Raghava and Lakshmana,” and clasp your feet: then reward us. Have it proclaimed through the city from an elephant’s back that Rama is dead with his brother and army; seem pleased, give your servants pleasures, attendants, wealth, garlands, clothes, unguents and drink, and drink yourself in joy. When the rumour has spread everywhere that Rama has been eaten with his friends by rakshasas, go to Sita in private, comfort her and tempt her with wealth, grain, pleasures and jewels. By this trick, adding grief upon grief, Sita, unwilling and without her protector, will come into your power. Finding her lovely husband lost, from despair and a woman’s frailty she will yield; raised in comfort, worn by sorrow, knowing her happiness depends on you, she will come round. This is good policy; just seeing Rama will bring disaster; success will come here, without battle; do not be anxious. A king who conquers his enemy without fighting, his army intact and his life not risked, long enjoys great glory, merit, fortune and fame.
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तदुक्तमतिकायस्य बलिनो बाहुशालिनः । कुम्भकर्णस्य वचनं श्रुत्वोवाच महोदरः ॥ १ ॥
Hearing those words spoken by mighty Kumbhakarna, of huge body and powerful arms, Mahodara said:
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Mahodara’s Scheme 1 min read.
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कुम्भकर्ण कुले जातो धृष्टः प्राकृतदर्शनः । अवलिप्तो न शक्नोषि कृत्यं सर्वत्र वेदितुम् ॥ २ ॥
“Kumbhakarna, you are born of a noble family, yet bold and common in your view; proud, you cannot understand what is to be done in every case.
नहि राजा न जानीते कुम्भकर्ण नयानयौ । त्वं तु कैशोरकाद् धृष्टः केवलं वक्तुमिच्छसि ॥ ३ ॥
“For the king knows good and bad policy, Kumbhakarna; but you, bold from boyhood, only wish to speak.
स्थानं वृद्धिं च हानिं च देशकालविधानवित् । आत्मनश्च परेषां च बुध्यते राक्षसर्षभः ॥ ४ ॥
“The bull among rakshasas, who knows the ordering of place and time, understands position, growth and loss, his own and others’.
यत् त्वशक्यं बलवता वक्तुं प्राकृतबुद्धिना । अनुपासितवृद्धेन कः कुर्यात् तादृशं बुधः ॥ ५ ॥
“What wise man would do such a thing as cannot be said by a strong man of common mind who has not served the elders?
यांस्तु धर्मार्थकामांस्त्वं ब्रवीषि पृथगाश्रयान् । अवबोद्धुं स्वभावेन नहि लक्षणमस्ति तान् ॥ ६ ॥
“Dharma, profit and pleasure, which you speak of as resting on separate foundations: you have no natural mark for understanding them.
कर्म चैव हि सर्वेषां कारणानां प्रयोजनम् । श्रेयः पापीयसां चात्र फलं भवति कर्मणाम् ॥ ७ ॥
“For action is the purpose of all causes; and here the fruit of actions, good or evil, comes to be.
निःश्रेयसफलावेव धर्मार्थावितरावपि । अधर्मानर्थयोः प्राप्तं फलं च प्रत्यवायिकम् ॥ ८ ॥
“Dharma and profit have the highest good as their fruit, and the others too; the fruit gained by adharma and harm is ruin.
ऐहलौकिकपारक्यं कर्म पुंभिर्निषेव्यते । कर्माण्यपि तु कल्याणि लभते काममास्थितः ॥ ९ ॥
“Action for this world and the next is practised by men; but one devoted to pleasure also obtains good things.
तत्र क्लृप्तमिदं राज्ञा हृदि कार्यं मतं च नः । शत्रौ हि साहसं यत् तत् किमिवात्रापनीयते ॥ १० ॥
“Here, what the king has settled in his heart to do is our view too; what is wrong in being daring against an enemy?
एकस्यैवाभियाने तु हेतुर्यः प्राहृतस्त्वया । तत्राप्यनुपपन्नं ते वक्ष्यामि यदसाधु च ॥ ११ ॥
“As for the reason you gave for going out alone, I will tell you what is unsound and wrong in it.
येन पूर्वं जनस्थाने बहवोऽतिबला हताः । राक्षसा राघवं तं त्वं कथमेको जयिष्यसि ॥ १२ ॥
“How will you alone conquer that Raghava by whom many very mighty rakshasas were killed before in Janasthana?
ये पूर्वं निर्जितास्तेन जनस्थाने महौजसः । राक्षसांस्तान् पुरे सर्वान् भीतानद्य न पश्यसि ॥ १३ ॥
“Do you not see today, terrified in the city, all those rakshasas of great energy who were defeated by him before in Janasthana?
तं सिंहमिव संक्रुद्धं रामं दशरथात्मजम् । सर्पं सुप्तमहो बुद्ध्वा प्रबोधयितुमिच्छसि ॥ १४ ॥
“Ah, knowing him as an angry lion, as a sleeping snake, you wish to wake Rama, son of Dasharatha.
ज्वलन्तं तेजसा नित्यं क्रोधेन च दुरासदम् । कस्तं मृत्युमिवासह्यमासादयितुमर्हति ॥ १५ ॥
“Always blazing with splendour, unapproachable in anger, unbearable like Death: who would dare approach him?
संशयस्थमिदं सर्वं शत्रोः प्रतिसमासने । एकस्य गमनं तात नहि मे रोचते भृशम् ॥ १६ ॥
“All this is in doubt in facing the enemy; I do not at all like the going of one alone, friend.
हीनार्थस्तु समृद्धार्थं को रिपुं प्राकृतं यथा । निश्चितं जीवितत्यागे वशमानेतुमिच्छति ॥ १७ ॥
“What man, lacking means, wishes to bring under control an enemy rich in means, as if he were a common foe, resolved to give up his life?
यस्य नास्ति मनुष्येषु सदृशो राक्षसोत्तम । कथमाशंससे योद्धुं तुल्येनेन्द्रविवस्वतोः ॥ १८ ॥
“How do you hope to fight one who has no equal among men, best of rakshasas, equal to Indra and Vivasvat?”
एवमुक्त्वा तु संरब्धं कुम्भकर्णं महोदरः । उवाच रक्षसां मध्ये रावणं लोकरावणम् ॥ १९ ॥
Having said this to the agitated Kumbhakarna, Mahodara said to Ravana, who makes the worlds cry out, in the midst of the rakshasas:
लब्ध्वा पुरस्ताद् वैदेहीं किमर्थं त्वं विलम्बसे । यदीच्छसि तदा सीता वशगा ते भविष्यति ॥ २० ॥
“Having got Vaidehi before you, why do you delay? If you wish, Sita will then be in your power.
दृष्टः कश्चिदुपायो मे सीतोपस्थानकारकः । रुचितश्चेत् स्वया बुद्ध्या राक्षसेन्द्र ततः शृणु ॥ २१ ॥
“I have seen a means that will bring Sita to you; if it pleases your judgement, king of the rakshasas, then hear it.
अहं द्विजिह्वः संह्रादी कुम्भकर्णो वितर्दनः । पञ्च रामवधायैते निर्यान्तीत्यवघोषय ॥ २२ ॥
“Proclaim: ‘I, Dvijihva, Samhradi, Kumbhakarna and Vitardana, these five, are going out to kill Rama.’
ततो गत्वा वयं युद्धं दास्यामस्तस्य यत्नतः । जेष्यामो यदि ते शत्रून् नोपायैः कार्यमस्ति नः ॥ २३ ॥
“Then we will go and give battle to him with effort. If we conquer your enemies, we need no stratagems.
अथ जीवति नः शत्रुर्वयं च कृतसंयुगाः । ततः समभिपत्स्यामो मनसा यत् समीक्षितम् ॥ २४ ॥
“But if our enemy lives and we have fought, then we will carry out what has been considered in the mind.
वयं युद्धादिहैष्यामो रुधिरेण समुक्षिताः । विदार्य स्वतनुं बाणै रामनामाङ्कितैः शरैः ॥ २५ ॥
“We will come back here from the battle drenched in blood, having torn our own bodies with arrows marked with Rama’s name,
भक्षितो राघवोऽस्माभिर्लक्ष्मणश्चेति वादिनः । ततः पादौ ग्रहीष्यामस्त्वं नः कामं प्रपूरय ॥ २६ ॥
“saying, ‘Raghava has been eaten by us, and Lakshmana’; then we will clasp your feet; and you fulfil our desires.
ततोऽवघोषय पुरे गजस्कन्धेन पार्थिव । हतो रामः सह भ्रात्रा ससैन्य इति सर्वतः ॥ २७ ॥
“Then have it proclaimed throughout the city from an elephant’s back, king: ‘Rama has been killed with his brother and army.’
प्रीतो नाम ततो भूत्वा भृत्यानां त्वमरिंदम । भोगांश्च परिवारांश्च कामान् वसु च दापय ॥ २८ ॥
“Then, pleased as it were, tamer of enemies, have your servants given pleasures, attendants, desires and wealth.
ततो माल्यानि वासांसि वीराणामनुलेपनम् । पेयं च बहु योधेभ्यः स्वयं च मुदितः पिब ॥ २९ ॥
“Then garlands, clothes and unguents for the heroes, and much drink for the warriors; and drink yourself, delighted.
ततोऽस्मिन् बहुलीभूते कौलीने सर्वतो गते । भक्षितः ससुहृद् रामो राक्षसैरिति विश्रुते ॥ ३० ॥
“Then, when this rumour has grown and spread everywhere, when it is known that ‘Rama has been eaten with his friends by the rakshasas,’
प्रविश्याश्वास्य चापि त्वं सीतां रहसि सान्त्वयन् । धनधान्यैश्च कामैश्च रत्नैश्चैनां प्रलोभय ॥ ३१ ॥
“go in, comfort Sita in private, soothing her, and tempt her with wealth, grain, pleasures and jewels.
अनयोपधया राजन् भूयः शोकानुबन्धया । अकामा त्वद्वशं सीता नष्टनाथा गमिष्यति ॥ ३२ ॥
“By this trick, king, bringing grief upon grief, Sita, unwilling, her protector lost, will come into your power.
रमणीयं हि भर्तारं विनष्टमधिगम्य सा । नैराश्यात् स्त्रीलघुत्वाच्च त्वद्वशं प्रतिपत्स्यते ॥ ३३ ॥
“Finding her lovely husband lost, from despair and a woman’s lightness she will come into your power.
सा पुरा सुखसंवृद्धा सुखार्हा दुःखकर्शिता । त्वय्यधीनं सुखं ज्ञात्वा सर्वथैव गमिष्यति ॥ ३४ ॥
“She, raised in happiness, deserving happiness, worn by sorrow, knowing that happiness depends on you, will come in every way.
एतत् सुनीतं मम दर्शनेन रामं हि दृष्ट्वैव भवेदनर्थः । इहैव ते सेत्स्यति मोत्सुको भू- र्महानयुद्धेन सुखस्य लाभः ॥ ३५ ॥
“This is good policy in my view; for disaster would come just from seeing Rama. It will succeed here for you; do not be eager; great gain of happiness without battle.
अनष्टसैन्यो ह्यनवाप्तसंशयो रिपुं त्वयुद्धेन जयञ्जनाधिपः । यशश्च पुण्यं च महान्महीपते श्रियं च कीर्तिं च चिरं समश्नुते ॥ ३६ ॥
“For a king who conquers his enemy without battle, his army not destroyed, without danger to his life, enjoys glory, great merit, fortune and fame for a long time, lord of the earth.”