Hope against hope!

Hearing about his son Atikaya killed by Laxman,Rāvan was very worried. He said-Dhumraksha, Akampana, Prahasta & Kumbhakarna, who were never defeated & now killed by valiant Rām

That day Indrajit, my son, bound both Rām & Laxman with terrific arrows with boons, which could never be released by any celestial, demon or supernatural beings, but 2 brothers were released either by their power or by marvel, I don’t know. I don’t find anyone who can kill Rām, Laxman, Sugriva or Vibhishana & it looks like their strength & power is unconquerable

We should carefully guard Lankā, Ashoka garden (where Sitā stays) & keep vigil on enemy movement as they can enter the city at any time. Let me think what needs to be done now. Rāvan suffering with grief & depression went inside his palace as the loss of his 2 brothers & 4 sons was too much

Seeing his father submerged in a sea of sorrow, Indrajit said-Don’t be embarrassed till I’m alive. Command me to go & you’ll see Rām Laxman dead with their limbs scattered. Listen to my promise which is firm & backed by valor and divine blessing. Indrajit, after seeking permission mounted his chariot & Rāvan blessing him said-Kill Rām, who is a mere human being & is assailable

Many demons accompanied him holding different weapons & were also armed with Bhusandis & Shataghnis. Indrajit after reaching the field, performed a sacrifice making an oblation to fire of sandalwood, butter & parched grain. He sacrificed the neck of a live goat into the fire & then invoked missile presided over by Brahmā

Indrajit, with splendor of fire & might similar to Indra, then became invisible in the sky with his bow, arrows, sword, chariot, charioteer & all. He commanded fellow demons to fight enthusiastically with intent to kill all Vānaras

He then started mass killing of Vānaras with Nalika arrows, mace & club. He killed upto 9 Vānaras with a single arrow. Vānaras fought valiantly but were no match to Indrajit’s power, who then decided to target Vānar chiefs one by one

Indrajit was also on a path as others, a prisoner of his own ambition

We all fail at times & our mistakes have serious & egregious consequences, leading to a feeling of remorse. Ideally remorse should trigger contemplation of what went wrong, what impelled us to do what we did & its careful analysis helps us to reform and eliminate factors to ensure future success. Rāvan also felt remorseful but his mind tricked him to rely on Indrajit’s words, despite him not finding answers to why things happened as they happened

BG 18.35 Krsna says

yayā svapnaṁ bhayaṁ śokaṁ viṣādaṁ madam eva ca

na vimuñcati durmedhā dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī

And that determination which cannot go beyond dreaming, fearfulness,lamentation,moroseness, & illusion- such unintelligent determination, O son of Pṛthā, is in the mode of darkness.

It’s the mind that plays the devilish double role,bewildered by uncontrolled senses & we need to be aware not to fall in trap

Thoughts? #gameoflife