With sundered bow and shattered shield Headless they sank upon the field, As the tall trees, that felt the blast Of Garud's wing, to earth were cast. The giants left unslaughtered there Where filled with terror and despair, And to their leader Khara fled Faint, wounded, and discomfited. These fiery Dushan strove to cheer, And poised his bow to calm their fear; Then fierce as He who rules the dead, When wroth, on angered Rama sped. By Dushan cheered, the demons cast Their dread aside and rallied fast With Sals, rocks, palm-trees in their hands With nooses, maces, pikes, and brands, Again upon the godlike man The mighty fiends infuriate ran, These casting rocks like hail, and these A whelming shower of leafy trees. Wild, wondrous fight, the eye to scare, And raise on end each shuddering hair, As with the fiends who loved to rove By night heroic Rama strove! The giants in their fury plied Rama with darts on every side. Then, by the gathering demons pressed From north and south and east and west, By showers of deadly darts assailed From every quarter fiercely hailed, Girt by the foes who swarmed around, He raised a mighty shout whose sound Struck terror. On the giant crew His great Gandharva(468) arrow flew. A thousand mortal shafts were rained From the orbed bow the hero strained, Till east and west and south and north Were filled with arrows volleyed forth. They heard the fearful shout: they saw His mighty hand the bowstring draw, Yet could no wounded giant's eye See the swift storm of arrows fly. Still firm the warrior stood and cast His deadly missiles thick and fast. Dark grew the air with arrowy hail Which hid the sun as with a veil. Fiends wounded, falling, fallen, slain, All in a moment, spread the plain, And thousands scarce alive were left Mangled, and gashed, and torn, and cleft. Dire was the sight, the plain o'erspread With trophies of the mangled dead.Ramayana 3.160c · Ramayana · 3
Ramayana 3.160c
Ramayana · translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
Themes in this passage
FearNatureStrengthDeathWarAngerLovePeace
Fear in other traditions
The same theme, as Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity address it.
They who fear when they ought not to fear, and fear not when they ought to fear, such men, embracing false doctrines, enter the evil path.Dhp 22.317 · Dhammapada · The Downward Course
When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them.Tao Te Ching 72.1 · Tao Te Ching
It is only the devil who would make (men) fear his partisans. Fear them not; fear Me, if ye are true believers.Quran 3:175 · Quran · The Family Of Imran
Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.Isaiah 8:12 · Bible · Isaiah
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