# Araṇya Kāṇḍa 33 — Rāvaṇa’s flight and Garuḍa’s story *He passes the banyan of Garuḍa’s broken branch and amṛta quest, then reaches Mārīca’s hermitage* Portion: Śūrpaṇakhā turns Rāvaṇa toward Sītā · Verses: 38 · Ref format: 3.33. ## Sequence - After hearing Śūrpaṇakhā, Rāvaṇa dismisses his ministers and settles on a course of action (33.1–3) - he goes secretly to the chariot hall and orders his vehicle prepared (33.4–5) - mounting the jewel-decorated, wish-moving chariot drawn by goblin-faced mules, he flies toward the ocean (33.6–10) - he passes coastal forests, hermitages, lotus ponds, nāgas, suparṇas, gandharvas, kiṃnaras, siddhas, cāraṇas and apsarases, fragrant groves, pearls, coral, and prosperous towns (33.11–26) - he sees the vast banyan called Subhadra, associated with an earlier deed of Garuḍa (33.27–28). - The account recalls how Garuḍa landed there carrying an elephant and tortoise for food, and his weight broke a great branch above a gathering of ṛṣis (33.28–30) - to save them, he carried the branch away along with his prey → after freeing the munis, he used the branch to destroy a Niṣāda territory and ate his prey (33.31–32) - strengthened by his success, he resolved to obtain the nectar of immortality and broke through its defenses to carry it from Indra's palace (33.33–34) - passing this landmark and crossing to the far shore, Rāvaṇa reaches a secluded hermitage → there he finds Mārīca living with matted hair, bark clothing, deerskin, and restrained diet, and approaches him (33.35–38). ## Verses **3.33.1** tataḥ śūrpaṇakhā vākyaṃ tac chrutvā romaharṣaṇam sacivān abhyanujñāya kāryaṃ buddhvā jagāma ha Then, having heard that hair-raising speech of Śūrpaṇakhā, and dismissing his ministers, having resolved on his course, he set out. **3.33.2** tat kāryam anugamyātha yathāvad upalabhya ca doṣāṇāṃ ca guṇānāṃ ca saṃpradhārya balābalam Then, having pursued that matter and duly grasped it, and having weighed the strength and weakness of its faults and merits, **3.33.3** iti kartavyam ity eva kṛtvā niścayam ātmanaḥ sthirabuddhis tato ramyāṃ yānaśālāṃ jagāma ha and having made his own firm decision, 'Thus it must be done,' then, steady of mind, he went to the lovely chariot-hall. **3.33.4** yānaśālāṃ tato gatvā pracchannaṃ rākṣasādhipaḥ sūtaṃ saṃcodayām āsa rathaḥ saṃyujyatām iti Then, going secretly to the chariot-hall, the lord of rākṣasas urged his charioteer: 'Let the chariot be yoked.' **3.33.5** evam uktaḥ kṣaṇenaiva sārathir laghuvikramaḥ rathaṃ saṃyojayām āsa tasyābhimatam uttamam So addressed, the charioteer, nimble in action, in a moment yoked for him that excellent chariot to his liking. **3.33.6** kāñcanaṃ ratham āsthāya kāmagaṃ ratnabhūṣitam piśācavadanair yuktaṃ kharaiḥ kanakabhūṣaṇaiḥ Mounting that golden chariot that goes at will, adorned with gems, yoked with goblin-faced mules decked in gold, **3.33.7** meghapratimanādena sa tena dhanadānujaḥ rākṣasādhipatiḥ śrīmān yayau nadanadīpatim with that chariot roaring like a thundercloud, the glorious younger brother of Kubera, lord of the rākṣasas, went to the lord of streams and rivers, the ocean. **3.33.8** sa śvetabālavyasanaḥ śvetacchatro daśānanaḥ snigdhavaidūryasaṃkāśas taptakāñcanabhūṣaṇaḥ He, the ten-faced one, with white yak-tail fans and a white parasol, gleaming like polished lapis lazuli, adorned with refined gold, **3.33.9** daśāsyo viṃśatibhujo darśanīya paricchadaḥ tridaśārir munīndraghno daśaśīrṣa ivādrirāṭ ten-mouthed, twenty-armed, with splendid trappings, foe of the gods, slayer of chief sages—he was like the ten-peaked king of mountains. **3.33.10** kāmagaṃ ratham āsthāya śuśubhe rākṣasādhipaḥ vidyunmaṇḍalavān meghaḥ sabalāka ivāmbare Mounted on his chariot that goes at will, the lord of rākṣasas shone like a cloud in the sky, girt with a garland of lightning and accompanied by cranes. **3.33.11** saśailaṃ sāgarānūpaṃ vīryavān avalokayan nānāpuṣpaphalair vṛkṣair anukīrṇaṃ sahasraśaḥ The valiant one gazed upon the ocean-shore with its mountains, strewn by the thousand with trees of manifold flowers and fruits, **3.33.12** śītamaṅgalatoyābhiḥ padminībhiḥ samantataḥ viśālair āśramapadair vedimadbhiḥ samāvṛtam surrounded on every side by lotus-ponds of cool, auspicious water, and by spacious hermitage-grounds furnished with altars, **3.33.13** kadaly āḍhakisaṃbādhaṃ nālikeropaśobhitam sālais tālais tamālaiś ca tarubhiś ca supuṣpitaiḥ dense with plantains and āḍhakī, graced with coconut palms, and with sāla, palmyra, tamāla, and other well-blossomed trees, **3.33.14** atyantaniyatāhāraiḥ śobhitaṃ paramarṣibhiḥ nāgaiḥ suparṇair gandharvaiḥ kiṃnaraiś ca sahasraśaḥ graced by supreme sages of most abstemious diet, and by nāgas, suparṇas, gandharvas, and kinnaras in their thousands, **3.33.15** jitakāmaiś ca siddhaiś ca cāmaṇaiś copaśobhitam ājair vaikhānasair māṣair vālakhilyair marīcipaiḥ and adorned by those who had conquered desire, by siddhas, and by wandering ascetics; by Ajas, Vaikhānasas, Māṣas, Vālakhilyas, and Marīcipas, **3.33.16** divyābharaṇamālyābhir divyarūpābhir āvṛtam krīḍā ratividhijñābhir apsarobhiḥ sahasraśaḥ thronged by thousands of apsarases of divine form, adorned with heavenly ornaments and garlands, versed in the arts of play and love, **3.33.17** sevitaṃ devapatnībhiḥ śrīmatībhiḥ śriyā vṛtam devadānavasaṃghaiś ca caritaṃ tv amṛtāśibhiḥ frequented by the glorious wives of the gods, filled with splendour, and traversed by hosts of gods and dānavas, the drinkers of nectar, **3.33.18** haṃsakrauñcaplavākīrṇaṃ sārasaiḥ saṃpraṇāditam vaidūryaprastaraṃ ramyaṃ snigdhaṃ sāgaratejasā strewn with swans, curlews, and waterfowl, resounding with cranes, lovely with its floor of lapis lazuli, glossy with the radiance of the sea— **3.33.19** pāṇḍurāṇi viśālāni divyamālyayutāni ca tūryagītābhijuṣṭāni vimānāni samantataḥ and on every side aerial cars, white and spacious, hung with divine garlands and filled with instrumental music and song, **3.33.20** tapasā jitalokānāṃ kāmagāny abhisaṃpatan gandharvāpsarasaś caiva dadarśa dhanadānujaḥ coursing past those wish-moving cars of the ones who by austerity had won the worlds, the younger brother of Kubera beheld gandharvas and apsarases too. **3.33.21** niryāsarasamūlānāṃ candanānāṃ sahasraśaḥ vanāni paśyan saumyāni ghrāṇatṛptikarāṇi ca gazing by the thousand on pleasant forests of sandal trees—fragrant in their exudation, sap, and roots—that gratify the sense of smell, **3.33.22** agarūṇāṃ ca mukhyānāṃ vanāny upavanāni ca takkolānāṃ ca jātyānāṃ phalānāṃ ca sugandhinām and forests and groves of choice aloe-wood trees, and of takkola and fragrant fruits of fine kind, **3.33.23** puṣpāṇi ca tamālasya gulmāni maricasya ca muktānāṃ ca samūhāni śuṣyamāṇāni tīrataḥ and the blossoms of the tamāla, and the bushes of pepper, and heaps of pearls drying upon the shore, **3.33.24** śaṅkhānāṃ prastaraṃ caiva pravālanicayaṃ tathā kāñcanāni ca śailāni rājatāni ca sarvaśaḥ and a bed of conch-shells, and likewise a mass of coral, and mountains of gold and silver everywhere, **3.33.25** prasravāṇi manojñāni prasannāni hradāni ca dhanadhānyopapannāni strīratnair āvṛtāni ca and charming springs and clear pools, and (cities) endowed with wealth and grain and thronged with jewel-like women, **3.33.26** hastyaśvarathagāḍhāni nagarāṇy avalokayan taṃ samaṃ sarvataḥ snigdhaṃ mṛdusaṃsparśamārutam gazing on cities dense with elephants, horses, and chariots—and (he saw) that region, level and glossy on every side, its breeze soft to the touch, **3.33.27** anūpaṃ sindhurājasya dadarśa tridivopamam tatrāpaśyat sa meghābhaṃ nyagrodham ṛṣibhir vṛtam he beheld the shore of the ocean-king, resembling heaven; and there he saw a banyan tree, cloud-like, encircled by sages, **3.33.28** samantād yasya tāḥ śākhāḥ śatayojanam āyatāḥ yasya hastinam ādāya mahākāyaṃ ca kaccapam bhakṣārthaṃ garuḍaḥ śākhām ājagāma mahābalaḥ whose branches stretched a hundred yojanas all around, and to a branch of which the mighty Garuḍa once came, seizing an elephant and a huge tortoise for his food. **3.33.29** tasya tāṃ sahasā śākhāṃ bhāreṇa patagottamaḥ suparṇaḥ parṇabahulāṃ babhañjātha mahābalaḥ That best of birds, mighty Suparṇa, then suddenly broke off by his weight that leaf-laden branch of the tree. **3.33.30** tatra vaikhānasā māṣā vālakhilyā marīcipāḥ ajā babhūvur dhūmrāś ca saṃgatāḥ paramarṣayaḥ There were gathered supreme sages—Vaikhānasas, Māṣas, Vālakhilyas, Marīcipas, Ajas, and Dhūmras. **3.33.31** teṣāṃ dayārthaṃ garuḍas tāṃ śākhāṃ śatayojanām jagāmādāya vegena tau cobhau gajakacchapau Out of compassion for them, Garuḍa flew off swiftly, bearing that hundred-yojana branch and both the elephant and the tortoise. **3.33.32** ekapādena dharmātmā bhakṣayitvā tad āmiṣam niṣādaviṣayaṃ hatvā śākhayā patagottamaḥ praharṣam atulaṃ lebhe mokṣayitvā mahāmunīn That righteous best of birds, eating that flesh with one foot, and destroying with the branch a territory of the Niṣādas, attained matchless joy, having freed the great sages. **3.33.33** sa tenaiva praharṣeṇa dviguṇīkṛtavikramaḥ amṛtānayanārthaṃ vai cakāra matimān matim By that very joy his valour was redoubled, and the wise one resolved to fetch the nectar of immortality. **3.33.34** ayojālāni nirmathya bhittvā ratnagṛhaṃ varam mahendrabhavanād guptam ājahārāmṛtaṃ tataḥ Shattering the iron nettings and breaking open the excellent jewel-chamber, he then carried off the well-guarded nectar from the palace of great Indra. **3.33.35** taṃ maharṣigaṇair juṣṭaṃ suparṇakṛtalakṣaṇam nāmnā subhadraṃ nyagrodhaṃ dadarśa dhanadānujaḥ The younger brother of Kubera beheld that banyan, frequented by throngs of great sages, marked by Suparṇa's deed, named Subhadra. **3.33.36** taṃ tu gatvā paraṃ pāraṃ samudrasya nadīpateḥ dadarśāśramam ekānte puṇye ramye vanāntare Passing beyond it to the far shore of the ocean, lord of rivers, he saw a hermitage in a secluded, holy, and lovely part of the forest. **3.33.37** tatra kṛṣṇājinadharaṃ jaṭāvalkaladhāriṇam dadarśa niyatāhāraṃ mārīcaṃ nāma rākṣasaṃ There he saw a rākṣasa named Mārīca, wearing a black antelope-skin, bearing matted locks and bark-cloth, of restrained diet. **3.33.38** sa rāvaṇaḥ samāgamya vidhivat tena rakṣasā tataḥ paścād idaṃ vākyam abravīd vākyakovidaḥ That Rāvaṇa, having duly met with that rākṣasa, then, skilled in speech, spoke these words: