Saturday, May 27, 2023
Friday, May 5, 2023
Monday, May 1, 2023
Matali
Ravana saw his impending death, Rama could see victory alone.
Now Ravana turned his attention to Matali, Indra's charioteer. But Ravana's attack and arrows could not hurt Matali even a bit.
That attack on Matali angered Rama. As Rama and Ravana battled on, the entire earth, including mountains, groves and forests trembled. The sun too became gloomy and shone less brightly upon Earth and the wind stopped moving.
The Gods in Heaven, the Gandharvas and the Kinnaras - all prayed: "May all be well with the cows and Brahmanas, May all the worlds endure forever, May Rama conquer Ravana!"
Vigilant and relentless, Rama chopped off Ravana's head, only to see it grow back.
"What is the reason, these arrows by which Mareecha, Khara, Dushana, Kabandha in Kroucha-forest, and Viradha in Dandaka-forest were killed, by which seven Sala trees and the mountains were burst, by which Vali was killed and the ocean shaken up all these arrows which provided immediate succour to me in battle, have proved of little efficacy in the case of Ravana."
Finally, Matali, Rama's charioteer suggests that "To kill Ravana you must use the dreaded arrow of Brahma, given to you by Agastya Muni (sage/rishi), which never misses its target". So Rama shot the divine arrow, which had the power of the gods in it. This arrow found its mark and pierced Ravana in the heart, finally killing him.