Lord of Valour and compassion!

We know the story of how Surpnakha had her ears and nose cut off by Laxman. Furious and distressed she went to her step brothers Khara and Dooshana.

These two were the step brothers of Ravana, who was the Emperor of the region. Surpnakha did not feel the need to approach Ravana. He was an Emperor and not to be disturbed for such small matters.

Khara and Dooshana were no easy foes. The had an invincible army of 14000 valiant and fierce rakshasa that had never tasted defeat yet. They had fought the Gods and vanquished them. To them Rama and Laxmana were two ordinary human princes who could be easily disposed.

Looking at the plight of their sister, they sent a small batch of brave soldiers to deal with Rama. But when for a long time they heard of no news of the soldiers they feared the worst and so gathered their army to wage a battle against Rama. Surpnakha kept warning them that though they seemed human, the two princes had an aura about them that made them look like Gods.

The rakshasa army was always hungry for a battle.. They were fearless and delighted in fighting and killing. Infuriated at the treatment of their emperors sister.. the army marched in fury trampling anything in their path. Birds and beasts flew and ran in despair at the approach of the army.

Back in panchvati Sri Rama felt the tremors on the earth and sensed trouble approaching. He instructed Laxman to take a reluctant Sita away to safety. Laxman would have loved to be with his brother and give him aid in battle, but he had long vowed to obey every single command of his dear brother and so took Sita away all along instilling faith in her and speaking of his brothers prowess.

Soon the massive army reached the place.. The clangs and battle drum along with war cries rant the air. The Earth shook in terror. Gods came out to witness the battle of Him whom many claimed was the Divine element and a yet undefeated army of 14000 fierce rakshasa at whose hands the demi-gods had suffered defeat.

Sri Rama having prayed to His weapons, strung His bow, the Kodanda, and twanged it. The sound reverberating from the bow struck the hearts of the rakshasa who became aware of their foe, as if luring them to a fight.

Then something strange happened.

Now Rama was a fighter of unmatched valor. In the Kshatriya traditions none matched Him and Sri Krishna in the art of archery. The likes of Arjuna, Bhishma, Karna, Parshurama.. were considered a distant second. Yet more then that Sri Rama was considered the embodiment of compassion and beauty. His Divine form affected even beasts and stones.

The rakshasa couldn't believe their eyes as they saw Rama. They became acutely aware of His Divine form and began wondering..: who is he?  is this our foe?. Having become aware of Him the rakshasas felt an acute distaste for their own ugliness which up until then they delighted in. They felt that life was worth living only if one is in presence of such beauty. These emotions were new to the rakshasas. They couldn't make sense of it. But they did not feel like fighting Rama anymore and so some began to walk away.

Seeing this Khara and Dooshana warned them that if anyone withdrew they would be instantly slain on the spot.

Imagine the state of mind of the Rakshashas.. for them a battle field was their playground. They loved slaughtering and killing and lived for it. Their inner nature provoked them to fight. Even though they didn't want to fight Rama, the warning and provocation by their General made them take out their weapons again.. Many of them were also keen to interact with Rama in some way even if in form of a battle. Many felt it was much better to die at the hands of Rama then die at the hands of their Generals. The cocktail of varying emotions within them gave rise to a frenzy and they entered the battlefield with war cries.

What followed was an intense battle. Arrows issued from Rama's bow killing hundreds. Each slain rakshsa felt it a blessing to be killed by the Divine hands and beholding His form. The battle between Rama and khara was very fierce. Khara managed to break the armour of Sri Rama, Sri Rama responded by slaying him with the Vaishnava arrow. When the battle had gone on long enough, Rama decided to end it all. He issued a weapon which put all enemies into a stupor. Each rakshasa saw a Rama standing next to him, and shouting " Here is Rama, kill him kill him!!" they began killing each other.

The invincible army thus tasted defeat. The Gods witnessed lights emerging from the bodies of the slain Rakhshsas and merging into Sri Rama's form. Gods grace is not just for those who he gives life to, but also for those whose life He takes.

When Laxman returned, the compassionate Lord took his help to dispose the bodies of his foes in fire, who in their last moments had entertained the feelings of devotion, rather then be left as food to vultures and beasts.

Association with the Lord in anyways is a blessing. Radha, gopikas and the likes merged in Him because they thought of Him day and night with Love. But even Kansa, Ravana, Sisupala merged in Him, because they too thought of Him day and night, even though in hatred. Whether you hold a flower lovingly or crush it, the flower will only release its fragrance in both cases.

Love God or Hate Him, but be with Him in life and death, no matter what.