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VĀLMĪKI RĀMĀYAṆA · CHAPTER 44
सर्गः ४४
Prahasta’s son Jambumali arrives with his bow and wounds Hanuman with repeated volleys. Hanuman answers with a rock, a tree, and finally the iron bar.
An edition-specific reading with original English meanings. Source & reading notes
SCENE 01 · VERSES 1–20
Prahasta’s son Jambumali arrives with his bow and wounds Hanuman with repeated volleys. Hanuman answers with a rock, a tree, and finally the iron bar.
संदिष्टो राक्षसेन्द्रेण प्रहस्तस्य सुतो बली ।
saṃdiṣṭo rākṣasendreṇa prahastasya suto balī |
Commanded by the rakshasa king, Prahasta’s powerful son
जम्बुमाली महादंष्ट्रो निर्जगाम धनुर्धरः ॥
jambumālī mahādaṃṣṭro nirjagāma dhanurdharaḥ ||
Jambumali, great-fanged and carrying a bow, set out.
रक्तमाल्याम्बरधरः स्रग्वी रुचिरकुण्डलः ।
raktamālyāmbaradharaḥ sragvī rucirakuṇḍalaḥ |
Wearing red garlands and garments, wreathed with flowers and lovely earrings,
महान् विवृत्तनयनश्चण्डः समरदुर्जयः ॥
mahān vivṛttanayanaścaṇḍaḥ samaradurjayaḥ ||
he was huge, fierce, wide-eyed, and difficult to overcome in battle.
धनुः शक्रधनुःप्रख्यं महद्रुचिरसायकम् ।
dhanuḥ śakradhanuḥprakhyaṃ mahadrucirasāyakam |
His great bow resembled Indra’s rainbow and bore splendid arrows;
विस्फारयानो वेगेन वज्राशनिसमस्वनम् ॥
visphārayāno vegena vajrāśanisamasvanam ||
he drew it forcefully, making a sound like crashing thunderbolts.
तस्य विस्फारघोषेण धनुषो महता दिशः ।
tasya visphāraghoṣeṇa dhanuṣo mahatā diśaḥ |
The tremendous twang of his bow
प्रदिशश्च नभश्चॆव सहसा समपूर्यत ॥
pradiśaśca nabhaścaॆva sahasā samapūryata ||
suddenly filled the main directions, the intermediate directions, and the sky.
रथेन खरयुक्तेन तमागतमुदीक्ष्य सः ।
rathena kharayuktena tamāgatamudīkṣya saḥ |
Seeing him arrive in a chariot drawn by donkeys,
हनुमान् वेगसंपन्नो जहर्ष च ननाद च ॥
hanumān vegasaṃpanno jaharṣa ca nanāda ca ||
swift Hanuman rejoiced and roared.
तं तोरणविटङ्कस्थं हनुमन्तं महाकपिम् ।
taṃ toraṇaviṭaṅkasthaṃ hanumantaṃ mahākapim |
Mighty-armed Jambumali pierced with sharp arrows
जम्बुमाली महाबाहुर्विव्याध निशितैः शरैः ॥
jambumālī mahābāhurvivyādha niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
the great vanara Hanuman, who stood upon the gateway’s projecting ledge.
अर्धचन्द्रेण वदने शिरस्येकेन कर्णिना ।
ardhacandreṇa vadane śirasyekena karṇinā |
He struck his face with a crescent-headed arrow, his head with one barbed arrow,
बाह्वोर्विव्याध नाराचैर्दशभिस्तं कपीश्वरम् ॥
bāhvorvivyādha nārācairdaśabhistaṃ kapīśvaram ||
and the vanara leader’s arms with ten iron arrows.
तस्य तच्छुशुभे ताम्रं शरेणाभिहतं मुखम् ।
tasya tacchuśubhe tāmraṃ śareṇābhihataṃ mukham |
His copper-coloured face, struck by an arrow, shone
शरदीवाम्बुजम्फुल्लं विद्धं भास्कररश्मिना ॥
śaradīvāmbujamphullaṃ viddhaṃ bhāskararaśminā ||
like an open autumn lotus pierced by the sun’s rays.
तत्तस्य रक्तं रक्तेन रञ्जितं शुशुभे मुखम् ।
tattasya raktaṃ raktena rañjitaṃ śuśubhe mukham |
His red face, further coloured by blood, shone
यथाकाशे महापद्मं सिक्तं चन्दनबिन्दुभिः ॥
yathākāśe mahāpadmaṃ siktaṃ candanabindubhiḥ ||
like a great lotus in the sky sprinkled with drops of sandalwood paste.
चुकोप बाणाभिहतो राक्षसस्य महाकपिः ।
cukopa bāṇābhihato rākṣasasya mahākapiḥ |
Struck by the arrows, the great vanara grew angry with the rakshasa.
ततः पार्श्वेतिविपुलां ददर्श महतीं शिलाम् ॥
tataḥ pārśvetivipulāṃ dadarśa mahatīṃ śilām ||
Then he saw an enormous rock close beside him.
तरसा तां समुत्पाट्य चिक्षेप बलवद्बली ।
tarasā tāṃ samutpāṭya cikṣepa balavadbalī |
Quickly tearing it loose, the powerful hero hurled it with great force.
तां शरैर्दशभिः क्रुद्धस्ताडयामास राक्षसः ॥
tāṃ śarairdaśabhiḥ kruddhastāḍayāmāsa rākṣasaḥ ||
The angry rakshasa struck that rock with ten arrows.
विपन्नं कर्म तद्दृष्ट्वा हनुमांश्चण्डविक्रमः ।
vipannaṃ karma taddṛṣṭvā hanumāṃścaṇḍavikramaḥ |
Seeing that his attack had failed, Hanuman of fierce prowess
सालं विपुलमुत्पाट्य भ्रामयामास वीर्यवान् ॥
sālaṃ vipulamutpāṭya bhrāmayāmāsa vīryavān ||
uprooted a great sala tree and began to whirl it.
भ्रामयन्तं कपिं दृष्ट्वा सालवृक्षं महाबलम् ।
bhrāmayantaṃ kapiṃ dṛṣṭvā sālavṛkṣaṃ mahābalam |
Seeing the immensely strong vanara whirling the sala tree,
चिक्षेप सुबहून् बाणान् जम्बुमाली महाबलः ॥
cikṣepa subahūn bāṇān jambumālī mahābalaḥ ||
powerful Jambumali discharged a great many arrows.
सालं चतुर्भिश्चिच्छेद वानरं पञ्चभिर्भुजे ।
sālaṃ caturbhiściccheda vānaraṃ pañcabhirbhuje |
With four arrows he cut the sala tree, with five he struck the vanara’s arm,
शिरस्येकेन बाणेन दशभिस्तु स्तनान्तरे ॥
śirasyekena bāṇena daśabhistu stanāntare ||
with one he struck his head, and with ten the middle of his chest.
स शरैः पूरिततनुः क्रोधेन महता वृतः ।
sa śaraiḥ pūritatanuḥ krodhena mahatā vṛtaḥ |
His body covered with arrows and filled with great anger,
तमेव परिघं गृह्य भ्रामयामास वेगतः ॥
tameva parighaṃ gṛhya bhrāmayāmāsa vegataḥ ||
Hanuman took that same iron bar and whirled it rapidly.
अतिवेगोतिवेगेन भ्रामयित्वा बलोत्कटः ।
ativegotivegena bhrāmayitvā balotkaṭaḥ |
The fiercely powerful, swift hero whirled it at tremendous speed
परिघं पातयामास जम्बुमालेर्महोरसि ॥
parighaṃ pātayāmāsa jambumālermahorasi ||
and brought the iron bar down upon Jambumali’s broad chest.
तस्य चैव शिरो नास्ति न बाहू न च जानुनी ।
tasya caiva śiro nāsti na bāhū na ca jānunī |
Neither his head, arms, nor knees could be distinguished,
न धनुर्नरथो नाश्वास्तत्रादृश्यन्त नेषवः ॥
na dhanurnaratho nāśvāstatrādṛśyanta neṣavaḥ ||
nor could his bow, chariot, draught animals, or arrows be seen there.
स हतस्तरसा तेन जम्बुमाली महाबलः ।
sa hatastarasā tena jambumālī mahābalaḥ |
Powerful Jambumali was killed by that forceful blow
पपात निहतो भूवौ चूर्णिताङ्गविभूषणः ॥
papāta nihato bhūvau cūrṇitāṅgavibhūṣaṇaḥ ||
and fell dead upon the earth, his limbs and ornaments shattered.
जम्बुमालिं च निहतं किङ्करांश्च महाबलान् ।
jambumāliṃ ca nihataṃ kiṅkarāṃśca mahābalān |
Hearing that Jambumali and the mighty Kinkaras had been slain,
चुक्रोध रावणः श्रुत्वा कोपसंरक्त लोचनः ॥
cukrodha rāvaṇaḥ śrutvā kopasaṃrakta locanaḥ ||
Ravana grew furious, his eyes reddening with anger.
स रोषसंवर्तितताम्रलोचनः
sa roṣasaṃvartitatāmralocanaḥ
With his copper-red eyes rolling in fury,
प्रहस्त पुत्रे निहते महाबले ।
prahasta putre nihate mahābale |
after mighty Prahasta’s son had been killed,
अमात्यपुत्रानतिवीर्यविक्रमान्
amātyaputrānativīryavikramān
the ministers’ sons, warriors of immense strength and courage,
समादिदेशाशु निशाचरेश्वरः ॥
samādideśāśu niśācareśvaraḥ ||
were immediately commanded to go by the lord of the night-roaming rakshasas.
CHAPTER 44 COMPLETE
Jambumali falls, and Ravana orders the ministers’ sons into battle.
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kanda, chapter 44. This reading follows Sanskrit Wikisource revision 355140, with all 20 numbered verses. Verse divisions and wording vary between editions.
The Sanskrit is preserved with normalized display spacing and line breaks. Some sentences continue across verse boundaries; the English follows that continuity. A yojana is a traditional distance unit, retained without assigning a modern measurement. Shape-changing and celestial beings belong to the epic’s sacred narrative.
English line senses and short meanings are original AI-assisted DHIH renderings checked against this Sanskrit reading; they are not a word-for-word grammatical commentary or a claim of human scholarly certification. Roman transliteration is generated mechanically in IAST. Names may also appear in familiar English spellings.
Sanskrit transcription credit: Wikisource contributors, revision history. The adapted reading text and DHIH English on this chapter page are offered under CC BY-SA 4.0. The ancient Sanskrit work is in the public domain. Illustrations are separately commissioned AI-generated DHIH artwork.
Historical comparison: M. N. Dutt’s Ramayana, volume II, a public-domain translation, was consulted for narrative context. The English displayed here is a fresh rendering of the pinned Sanskrit, not a reproduction of that translation.
The combat includes explicit wounds and a fatal crushing blow. The full epic reading differs from an age-adapted illustrated story. Audio will be added only when suitable recording permissions are available.