Upon the battlefield, Indrajit’s supreme chariot appeared, drawn by four powerful horses and armed with sharp arrows, a great bow mounted upon it. The chariot gleamed with radiant brilliance, its golden trappings shining, and its decorations of deer, crescent moons, and half-moons making it splendid to behold. Indrajit’s banner rose high—a great pole of gold blazing like fire, adorned with cat’s-eye gems, shining brightly above the fray. Protected by the mighty Brahmāstra and shining like the sun, Indrajit, the son of Rāvaṇa, became invincible. Leaving the city, Indrajit, the conqueror in battle, performed a fire offering with Rākṣasa mantras. Cloaked in invisibility, he spoke with confidence: “Today, after slaying those two who falsely dwell in the forest as ascetics, I will grant my father Rāvaṇa a greater victory in battle. Today, after killing Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and making the earth free of enemies, I will attain the highest delight.” With these words, he vanished from sight. Urged on by the enraged, ten-headed Rāvaṇa, Indrajit, fierce in battle, rushed forth with sharp bow and arrows. He beheld the two mighty heroes, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, standing among the foremost of the Vānaras, releasing streams of arrows like two three-headed serpents. Recognizing them, Indrajit strung his bow and unleashed a continuous shower of arrows, like a rain-filled cloud pouring upon the earth. Riding his aerial chariot and remaining hidden, Indrajit struck Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa with sharp arrows. Overwhelmed by the force of his attack, the brothers readied their bows and invoked a divine weapon, covering the sky with volleys of arrows. Yet, their weapons shone like the sun, and they remained untouched by arrows. Indrajit shrouded the heavens with smoke and darkness, veiling the directions in mist and gloom. No sound of bowstring nor wheels was heard as he moved, nor could his form be seen. In this dense darkness, he rained a torrent of nārāca arrows, like a wondrous shower of stones. Rāvaṇa, furious in battle, struck Rāma fiercely with arrows shining like the sun, granted as boons, piercing all his limbs. The two tiger-men, battered by nārāca arrows like mountains by streams, released sharp arrows with golden feathers. Their winged arrows met Rāvaṇa in the sky, but were cut down and fell to the earth, drenched in blood. Amid the excessive flood of arrows, the foremost men blazed, cutting down the falling shafts with numerous broad-headed arrows. Wherever arrows fell, the sons of Daśaratha released a supreme weapon. Rāvaṇa, the great charioteer, rushed his chariot in all directions, striking the sons of Daśaratha with swift, sharp arrows. Pierced deeply by these well-aimed arrows with golden feathers, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa appeared like blossoming kiṃśuka trees. None could discern Indrajit’s speed, form, bow, or arrows; nothing about him was known, as when the sun is hidden by clouds. Struck by him, the monkeys were slain and lifeless, hundreds lying fallen upon the earth. Lakṣmaṇa, enraged, turned to his brother: “I will employ the Brahma weapon to destroy all the rākṣasas.” Rāma, whose marks were auspicious, replied gently, “You should not kill all the rākṣasas on earth for the sake of one. One who does not fight, who is concealed, who approaches with joined palms seeking refuge, who flees, or who is intoxicated, must not be slain. But for his death alone I will exert effort, O mighty-armed; we shall employ weapons of great speed, resembling venomous serpents.” He added, “The chiefs of the monkeys, seeing that petty sorcerer, the Rakshasa, whose chariot is concealed, will slay him by force. Even if he enters the earth, or the sky, or the netherworld, or the realm of space, though he hides himself thus, struck by my weapon, he will fall lifeless upon the ground.” Having spoken these weighty words, Rāma, the mighty hero of the Raghu line, surrounded by the foremost monkeys, swiftly turned his gaze toward the destruction of that fierce perpetrator of cruel deeds. Thus ended the eightieth sarga in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa of the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, the first epic. Let the eighty-first sarga be heard. In the glorious Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, in the Yuddha Kāṇḍa, this is the seventy-third sarga of the three sevens. Understanding the mind of the great-souled Rāghava, Indrajit withdrew from the battle and entered the city. Remembering the slaughter of those swift Rakshasas, Rāvaṇa’s heroic son, his eyes reddened with anger, emerged once more. Indrajit, of immense prowess and the thorn of the gods, descended from the western gate, surrounded by Rakshasas, a true descendant of Pulastya. Seeing the two brothers, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, advancing for battle, Indrajit manifested his illusion. He placed a magical Sītā upon his chariot, and, surrounded by a great force, resolved upon her killing. With intent to bewilder all, devising a scheme for confusion, that wicked-minded one, determined to slay Sītā, advanced toward the monkeys.