353. The Rage of Ravana.

                      The news of the killing of his dearer than the dearest son Indrajit was absolutely devastating for Ravana. He was supremely confident that Indrajit, who had defeated Indra many a time would annihilate Rama and his army without any difficulty or doubt. It was beyond his comprehension how a human could kill Indrajit in a battle. To think of it something inside all his ten heads started burning; and he could not stop thinking about that.

             He could have tolerated if something happening in one or two of his heads; but when all his ten heads started to run amok ... well! it was beyond the tolerance limit for even the great rakshash Ravana and he promptly swooned and lay swoon for a long while.

           Unfortunately there was no doctor as capable as Sushena. Therefore, it took quite some time for the doctors available there to make him come out of his swoon. Regaining his consciousness after a long time, the king Ravana found that something was going in all his heads which made him to blabber "Alas! My child, the chief of the army of rakshasas, having extraordinary might! Having conquered Indra, how have you been vanquished and killed by Lakshmana now? Many times you have demonstrated that there was no one in all the worlds is capable of defeating you. How have you been defeated and killed by Lakshmana, now? ................"

           Suddenly Ravana, the king of rakshasas, became very, very and very angry. The anguish occasioned by the death of his most dear son, flared up further for him, who by his very nature, was wrathful. With his ten sets of eye brows joined together on his foreheads, he looked very frightening.

           It suddenly dawned on him that his most dear son Indrajit and many of his very valiant sons, relatives and subordinated died because of that wench Seetha. He, therefore, in retribution kill Seetha. The dreadful eyes of Ravana, which were red in colour by their very nature became more red by the fire of his wrath, looked glittering.
              That naturally intimidating and daunting stature of Ravana, when filled with the fire of his wrath and rage, looked somewhat like the form of enraged Rudra. Drops of tears falling down from his enraged eyes, looked as drops of burning oil.

           The sound of his grinding teeth from all his ten mouths  was heard like the noise of a large machine being dragged by the rakshashas. Trembling with fear, ministers, all the employees, all the warriors and others in the palace hid themselves, not daring to be seen by their highly enraged king, Ravana.   

           Ravana, afflicted as he was with grief at the killing of his most dear son, was thinking hard as to what he should do now. Whatever way he was thinking the conclusion he arrived was to kill Seetha as she was the root cause for all his present trouble.
         Calling and collecting all his ministers, all the army and other rakshashas in his palace, he informed them "O! My dear rakshash chaps! My dear son Indrajit made all those monkeys believe that he killed Seetha, by some conjuring trick. I shall now going to make that hoax into a hard reality to satisfy my anger. I'm gonna destroy Seetha, who is devoted to Rama, a very lousy guy".
         He, that angry Ravana, then taking his sword started walking towards the Ashoka vana, followed by the assemblage of his ministers and others.

       Seeing the highly angry Ravana, those who were following him were thinking, commenting and agreeing in toto  "It is their (meaning Rama and Lakshmana) good luck they are not seeing him (i.e. Ravana) now. If they see him now, they surely will drop dead out of fear......  ."

        With his unabated fury, Ravana reached the Ashoka grove. Seeing Ravana mantling a great fury and carrying an awesome sword marching towards her along with those rakshashas who were trying to keep him back, Seetha was somewhat disconcerted.
          She was meditating "It looks that this rakshash has determined to kill me. He tried numerous times to make me agree to be his consort. It looks that he is now totally despaired by my consistent refusal and decided to kill me. 

         "A little while ago I heard a terrific great noise of a multitude of rakshashas, who seemed to have been jubilant and roaring about some pleasant happening. Alas! Oh, my God! Hope it is not because of the destruction of the two princes. Is it because that awful rakshash has not been able to kill Rama and Lakshmana, is going to kill, me, because of the grief over his sons' death.

         "I should, perhaps, have heeded to the suggestion of Hanuman. Had I left on that day on his back, I would not have grieved like this today. The heart of maa Kausalya will get burst when she hears that her one and only son was killed in battle.

        "While lamenting, Kausalya will vividly recall about the birth, childhood, youth, the righteous acts and the handsome form of the Rama. Kausalya will surely kill herself by entering the flame or drowned in water. Woe be to the unfaithful hunch-back Manthara, of sinful resolve, because of whom, Kausalya will get this grief.”

         One minister of Ravana, called Suparshva, a good-natured, upright and highly intelligent rakshash, despite being restrained by his colleagues, could not resist his impulsive craving to prevent his master, lord and king, the mighty Ravana committing a most sinful action of killing a lady. He approached his king and told him mildly with all respect "Your majesty! It is highly incomprehensible that you, who knows very well all the righteousness  wish to kill Seetha, a mild and shriveling lady, in a bout of anger. O valiant king of rakshashas! You, the highly knowledgeable king  who is well versed about the duties of a king! If you kill Seetha, a defenseless lady, all the worlds will laugh at you. Show your anger, in battle, on Rama and his cronies.

        "Making yourself ready today itself, the fourteenth day of krishnapaksha (dimishing phase of the Moon), you, along with your mighty army, sally forth tomorrow, the new moon day, to victory. Seetha will become yours when Rama, the son of Dasaratha is killed by you tomorrow."

       Ravan, who by no means a fool, pondered and accepted that sane and sensible advice, endowed with justice, tendered by a friend. Ravana then coolly returned to his palace. After taking some refreshment and rest, that valiant Ravana, along with his friends, went to his assembly hall for discussing and deciding the further course of action.

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