# Bāla Kāṇḍa 16 — The Devas beget Rāma’s future allies *Brahmā directs the Devas to beget powerful helpers, their monkey-shaped sons inherit divine qualities and gather around Vālin & Sugrīva* Portion: Birth of the princes and their allies · Verses: 20 · Ref format: 1.16. ## Sequence - With Viṣṇu's human birth arranged, Brahmā orders the devatās to create powerful helpers: shape-changing, swift, intelligent warriors skilled in strategy and weapons (16.1–4) - he directs them to beget vānara-shaped sons through apsarases, gandharvīs, daughters of yakṣas and pannagas, and ṛkṣa, vidyādharī, kiṃnarī and vānarī females (16.5–6) - the Devas obey, joined by ṛṣis, siddhas, vidyādharas, uragas and cāraṇas (16.7–8) - thousands of mighty bears, monkeys, and langurs are born for Rāvaṇa's destruction, each inheriting the qualities of his divine parent (16.9–12) - they fight with rocks, trees, claws, and teeth and possess the strength to shake mountains, churn the sea, tear the earth, leap the ocean, and seize clouds (16.13–16) - their leaders multiply, settle on Ṛkṣavat and other mountains and in forests, and gather around Sugrīva, son of the Sun, and Vālin, son of Indra → the earth fills with these future allies of Rāma (16.17–20). ## Verses **1.16.1** putratvaṃ tu gate viṣṇau rājñas tasya mahātmanaḥ uvāca devatāḥ sarvāḥ svayambhūr bhagavān idam Now when Viṣṇu had gone to sonship of that great-souled king, the venerable Self-existent (Brahmā) spoke this to all the deities: **1.16.2** satyasaṃdhasya vīrasya sarveṣāṃ no hitaiṣiṇaḥ viṣṇoḥ sahāyān balinaḥ sṛjadhvaṃ kāmarūpiṇaḥ “For Viṣṇu — true to his word, heroic, wisher of good to us all — create mighty helpers who can take any form at will: **1.16.3** māyāvidaś ca śūrāṃś ca vāyuvegasamāñjave nayajñān buddhisaṃpannān viṣṇutulyaparākramān knowers of magic and heroic, equal to the wind in swiftness, versed in policy, endowed with intelligence, of prowess equal to Viṣṇu, **1.16.4** asaṃhāryān upāyajñān divyasaṃhananānvitān sarvāstraguṇasaṃpannān amṛtaprāśanān iva irresistible, knowing every expedient, endowed with divine bodily frames, furnished with all the excellences of weaponry, like the nectar-eating (gods) themselves. **1.16.5** apsaraḥsu ca mukhyāsu gandharvīṇāṃ tanūṣu ca yakṣapannagakanyāsu ṛṣkavidyādharīṣu ca Upon the chief apsarases and upon the bodies of gandharva-women, upon the daughters of yakṣas and serpents, and upon female bears and vidyādhara-women, **1.16.6** kiṃnarīṇāṃ ca gātreṣu vānarīṇāṃ tanūṣu ca sṛjadhvaṃ harirūpeṇa putrāṃs tulyaparākramān and upon the limbs of kinnara-women and the bodies of she-monkeys — beget, in the form of monkeys, sons of matching prowess.” **1.16.7** te tathoktā bhagavatā tat pratiśrutya śāsanam janayām āsur evaṃ te putrān vānararūpiṇaḥ They, thus addressed by the venerable one, having assented to that command, accordingly begot sons in the form of monkeys. **1.16.8** ṛṣayaś ca mahātmānaḥ siddhavidyādharoragāḥ cāraṇāś ca sutān vīrān sasṛjur vanacāriṇaḥ And the great-souled seers, the siddhas, vidyādharas and serpents, and the cāraṇas begot heroic sons who ranged the forests. **1.16.9** te sṛṣṭā bahusāhasrā daśagrīvavadhodyatāḥ aprameyabalā vīrā vikrāntāḥ kāmarūpiṇaḥ Created in their many thousands, bent on the slaying of the Ten-necked one (Rāvaṇa), of immeasurable strength, heroic, valiant, able to take any form, **1.16.10** te gajācalasaṃkāśā vapuṣmanto mahābalāḥ ṛkṣavānaragopucchāḥ kṣipram evābhijajñire resembling elephants and mountains, of mighty frame and great strength, in the shape of bears, monkeys and langurs, were swiftly born. **1.16.11** yasya devasya yad rūpaṃ veṣo yaś ca parākramaḥ ajāyata samastena tasya tasya sutaḥ pṛthak Whatever form, garb and prowess belonged to each god, the son of each was born, severally, endowed with the whole of it. **1.16.12** golāṅgūlīṣu cotpannāḥ ke cit saṃmatavikramāḥ ṛkṣīṣu ca tathā jātā vānarāḥ kiṃnarīṣu ca Some of esteemed prowess were born from the langur-females; and monkeys were likewise born from she-bears and from kinnara-women. **1.16.13** śilāpraharaṇāḥ sarve sarve pādapayodhinaḥ nakhadaṃṣṭrāyudhāḥ sarve sarve sarvāstrakovidāḥ All had rocks for weapons, all fought with trees; all had claws and fangs for weapons, all were skilled in every weapon. **1.16.14** vicālayeyuḥ śailendrān bhedayeyuḥ sthirān drumān kṣobhayeyuś ca vegena samudraṃ saritāṃ patim They could shake the lordly mountains, split firm trees, and by their force churn up the ocean, lord of rivers. **1.16.15** dārayeyuḥ kṣitiṃ padbhyām āplaveyur mahārṇavam nabhastalaṃ viśeyuś ca gṛhṇīyur api toyadān They could tear the earth with their feet, leap across the great ocean, enter the vault of the sky, and even seize the clouds. **1.16.16** gṛhṇīyur api mātaṅgān mattān pravrajato vane nardamānāṃś ca nādena pātayeyur vihaṃgamān They could seize even rutting elephants wandering in the forest, and with a roar could bring down the birds crying overhead. **1.16.17** īdṛśānāṃ prasūtāni harīṇāṃ kāmarūpimām śataṃ śatasahasrāṇi yūthapānāṃ mahātmanām babhūvur yūthapaśreṣṭhā vīrāṃś cājanayan harīn Of such great-souled troop-leaders among monkeys, able to change form at will, there were born a hundred hundred-thousands; and the best of the troop-leaders in turn begot heroic monkeys. **1.16.18** anye ṛkṣavataḥ prasthān upatasthuḥ sahasraśaḥ anye nānāvidhāñ śailān kānanāni ca bhejire Some in their thousands took station on the tablelands of Mount Ṛkṣavat; others resorted to mountains of various kinds and to the forests. **1.16.19** sūryaputraṃ ca sugrīvaṃ śakraputraṃ ca vālinam bhrātarāv upatasthus te sarva eva harīśvarāḥ And all those lords of monkeys attended upon the two brothers — Sugrīva, son of the Sun, and Vālin, son of Śakra (Indra). **1.16.20** tair meghavṛndācalatulyakāyair mahābalair vānarayūthapālaiḥ babhūva bhūr bhīmaśarīrarūpaiḥ samāvṛtā rāmasahāyahetoḥ By these mighty leaders of monkey-troops, of dreadful bodily shape, their bodies like masses of cloud and like mountains, the earth was covered, for the sake of aiding Rāma.