The Princes of Ayodhya-The Ramayan Through Short Stories

The Muddled Matter of Victory

Ravan was duly enraged. He was enraged because Akampana had been killed. He was enraged because Angad, the crown prince of the monkeys had slighted him again. He was enraged because no one had been able to defeat the two brothers for more than a few hours. Ravan stood up from his throne, his eyes dark red and bloodshot, lingering on the two empty thrones in the room, and snarling, his gleaming fangs showing.

"We have to end this war between mere monkeys and ourselves. We have to prove our prowess in the battlefield! So what if they have somehow killed Dhumraksh, Vajradamshtra, that they have managed to end Akampana's siege? It was luck, pure unadulterated luck! This Sita is proving to be more costly than I could have thought, but all good things come at a price, don't they? By the end of this, all her protectors and her husband and brother shall be dead, and she will consent to being my queen!"
Ravan rubbed his beard, his anger calming down at these thoughts. 'Yes, yes, good. We should issue someone at the head of the army and slay all of the vanar chiefs. This will weaken them greatly. Haven't you noticed? It's either that Hanuman, or their Yuvraj, or one of their chiefs that are causing all of our losses. If we kill even one of them-" Ravan grinned. "Yes, that's a great idea indeed. One of the best I've come up with these past few days."

Ravan cleared his throat. "Myself, Kumbhkaran, Meghnad, Nikumbh, or you, Prahast, should lead this ontake. We shall counter their generals with our own, stronger ones. You know what we can do?" Ravan grinned, and his lip curved up into a malicious smirk. "We'll weaken them so much, we'll kill so many of their generals, that brought down with their heavy sobs, they'll leave. They'll leave, or they'll waste away on our lands."

Indrajit looked very ready to volunteer himself for this task, and almost stood up, because Prahast got up from his throne. Ravan eyed him beadily. "I wish to volunteer myself to lead this legion. Raja Ravan, they are not unskilled brutes, or uncultured pieces of swine. Things have happened that we've foreseen. Things have happened that I knew would happen, but nonetheless, we charged on with our army."

"I recommended to you, weeks ago, to return Sita to her husband. But now it has become a matter of your pride, and I am your humble subject, follower, and army general. I would sacrifice myself, my family, everything I own, every essence of me for your sake, Lankesh. I bind myself to obey you, because I consider you my King and my God. If it is to your liking, I am going to lead this legion, and I will kill these vanar generals."

-----O-----

"I've never seen this legion before." Neel whispered, leaning back into the chair. "I've never seen this legion that's coming out of the Western gates of Lanka." Nal looked up with a frown. "It's an enormous army, isn't it? An enormous, highly capable collection of rakshasas. Come on, let's appreciate the silence before anyone else notices them as they invade the battlefield, and ruin the innocent dirt with their mucky footsteps."

But it wasn't long before the monkey army noticed them, and they all roared simultaneously, beating their chests and preparing for the new day's battle. Ram blinked his eyes open, because he had leaned on the pillar and dozed off for a moment. In seconds, he had rushed towards the opening of the long tent, and stared the large army in the eye, his own wide, and his breath torn from his throat.

Even without asking Vibhishan, Ram knew who the enormous rakshas leading the legion was. Prahast, the army general of Ravan's strongest legion. This was Prahast, who had been the reason Ravan won so many battles. This was Prahast, who would lose to absolutely no one. This was Prahast, who would serve Ravan till his last breath. This was Prahast, Ravan's mightiest fighter. And though he followed adharma and bound himself to the man who had captured his wife, Ram felt, for a moment, respect for this rakshas who used no illusions, no maya, nothing but raw power and hard-gained might to fight.