Having thus addressed Satrughna, Rāma again and again praised him and said:—"O foremost of men, let four thousand horses, two thousand chariots, one hundred excellent elephants, shops with various articles and songsters follow thee. O foremost of men, O Satrughna, do thou proceed with Nijuta gold and silver coins and necessary riches and conveyances. Do thou so act, O hero, that soldiers might be well-fed and delighted and be not annoyed with thee. Do thou please them with sweet words, for the servants, when they face enemies, have not with them friends or wives—and so they are pleased, O Rāghava when they receive sufficient food and presents, O Satrughna, having sent before a huge and well contented army do thou proceed afterwards to Madhuvana. Thou shouldst proceed so fearlessly that Madhu’s son Lavana might not know that thou wert going for encounter. O foremost of men, he shall not be slain by any other expedient than that I have acquainted thyself with. If he can perceive before, whoever that enemy might be, Lavana shall forsooth destroy him. When rains shall set in after the expiration of the present summer thou shouldst slay him for that is the proper time for destroying that vicious-minded one. For he shall then fearlessly move about leaving off his dart understanding that no one would come to fight with him during rains. Let the soldiers only now proceed with ascetics before them; the summer hath not as yet fully expired and this is the time, when they shall, without any trouble, be able to cross the Ganges. Afterwards having encamped thy army on the other side of the Ganges thou shouldst alone proceed speedily with thy bow." Hearing those words of Rāma and summoning his highly powerful and leading warriors Satrughna said "Do ye all proceed and halt at those places which are well known to you. Do not oppress any body." Having thus ordered the powerful warriors the highly powerful Satrughna bowed unto Kauçalyā, Sumitrā and Kaikeyi. Thereupon having circumambulated with folded hands Rāma, Lakshmana and Bharata he reverentially saluted the feet of the priests. And then with Rāma's permission and having gone round him the highly powerful Satrughna issued out. Having thus depatched before a huge army consisting of selected elephants and horses, Satrughna, the enhancer of the glory of Raghu's race, took farewell from Rāma. And all showed him proper respect.
SECTION LXXVIII.
Having thus despatched his army and waited at Ayodhyā for a month Satrughna, the slayer of enemies, proceeded alone. Having spent two nights on his way he arrived at the holy and picturesque hermitage of the great ascetic Valmiki. And having bowed unto that high-souled Muni he, with folded palms, said:—"O illustrious Sir, I wish to wait here this day; I have come here for some business of our master Rāma. To-morrow morning I shall proceed to the dreadful West." Hearing the words of the high-souled Satrughna, Vālmiki, the foremost of ascetics, replied saying:—"O thou of great renown, do thou wait here without any hesitation. O gentle one, this hermitage belongs to the descendants of the Raghu race. Do thou fearlessly take thy seat and water to wash thy feet." Thereupon taking water to wash his feet and feeding upon fruits and roots Satrughna attained to great delight. And afterwards he asked the great ascetic Vālmiki saying:—"O great ascetic, to whom belong the articles of sacrifice in the cast near this hermitage?" Whereto Vālmiki replied "Satrughna, hear I shall tell thee, whose sacrificial ground was this in the days of yore. There was a king by the name of Saudāsa—one of thy ancestors. His son Virjashaha was a highly powerful and pious king. The heroic Saudāsa was fond of hunting from his boyhood. Once on a time while a-hunting, he espied two Rakshasas in the forest. He had heard about them many times before; they were in the shape of tigers and of a dreadful figure and were not satiated with devouring many thousand deer. King Saudāsa saw those two Rākshasas and found the forest divested of all creatures. And enraged in consequence thereof he slew one of them. Having slain him and been at ease, Saudāsa, the foremost of men, began to eye that Rākshasa. His mate, greatly aggrieved, said to him:—'O vicious one, thou hast, without any fault, slain my companion—I shall therefore mete out becoming punishment unto thee.' Having said this the Rākshasa vanished therefrom. Thereupon in time the prince Virjashaha became king. Saudāsa engaged in celebrating a mighty horse-sacrifice in the vicinity of this hermitage. Vasishtha officiated as a priest at that sacrifice. It continued for many Ayuta years. For immense riches the sacrifice appeared like one performed by the celestials. Thereupon when the sacrifice was about to be finished the aforesaid Rākshasa, remembering his former enmity, assumed the shape of Vasishtha and said to the king Saudāsa:—'O king, to-day the sacrifice shall end; do therefore, without any delay, feed me with meat.' Hearing the words of the Rākshasa in the guise of a Brahman, the king ordered his expert cooks, saying:—'Do ye soon prepare such dishes of meat as may satisfy my preceptor Vasishtha.' Having been ordered by the king the cooks reverentially went away and the Rākshasa assuming their shape brought before the king dishes. The king and queen offered those dishes unto the ascetic Vasishtha, who, after being treated to them, perceived that they were of human flesh and, terribly enraged, said:—'O king, let this be thy food which thou hast offered me; this shall not prove otherwise.' Being enraged on hearing it the king Saudāsa took water in his palms and was about to imprecate Vasishtha, when his queen, preventing him said:—'O king, the illustrious great ascetic Vasishtha is our preceptor and priest and so thou shouldst not imprecate him.' Hearing those words of his queen, the king Saudāsa, threw off that powerful water on his own feet which at once became dark. From that time the illustrious king Saudāsa became also known by the name of Kalasmpāda. Thereupon the king with his spouse again and again bowed unto Vasishtha’s feet and informed him of what the Rākshasa had done under the guise of a Brāhmana. Hearing the words of the king and being apprised that this vile act had been done by the Rākshasa, Vasishtha said, 'O king, even what I have said angrily shall not prove futile. However I confer upon thee this boon that after twelve years thou shalt be freed from this curse, and by my favour thou shalt cherish no recollection of thy condition extending over those twelve years.' Having thus suffered the consequences of the curse, Saudāsa, the slayer of enemies, again obtained his kingdom and governed his subjects. O descendant of Rāghu, the sacrificial ground of which thou hast asked me, belongs to the king Saudasa." Having thus heard the dreadful story of the king Saudāsa and saluted the ascetic Vālmiki, Satrughna entered a thatched cottage.
SECTION LXXIX.
On the same night Satrughna housed himself in a thatched cottage Sitā gave birth to twin sons. In the midnight the Muni boys came to Vālmiki and communicated unto him this auspicious intelligence, saying "O illustrious Sir, the beloved spouse of Rāma hath given birth to two sons; do thou so protect them that evil spirits might not injure them." Hearing those words the highly effulgent Vālmiki went there and attained to great delight on beholding those two highly effulgent sons, resembling the newly risen sun and the celestials. Thereupon he made arrangements against the oppression of ghosts and goblins. Thereupon taking Kusa (the upper part of the grass) and Lava (the lower part) the great ascetic Vālmiki made those arrangements. And giving Kusa sanctified by Mantras unto the hands of elderly women he said, "Do ye rub the person of the elder boy with these," and giving them Lava he said "Do ye rub the person of the younger brother with this. And according to this I shall name the first Son Kusa and the second Lava; and by those names they shall be celebrated on earth." Thereupon reverentially taking from the hands of Vālmiki and Kusa Lava, the means of protection, the elderly ladies engaged in guarding them. Hearing that Sitā without any trouble had given birth to two sons and elderly female ascetics had been engaged in protecting them and hearing the chanting of Rāma's glories in the midnight, Satrughna thought within himself. "Blessed it is that Sitā hath given birth to two sons." And with this joy the live long night of Srābana passed away in no time. Having performed the morning rites after the expiration of the night and taken farewell from the ascetic Vālmiki, Lakshmana proceeded towards the west. And having spent seven nights he at last arrived at the hermitage of the pious Rishis living on the banks of the Yamunā. Taking shelter there he engaged in pleasant conversation with Chābanya and other ascetics. Having remained there for the night and talked with those ascetics the high-souled, heroic Raghu prince Satrughna was greatly delighted.
SECTION LXXX.
Thereupon when the night set in Satrughna accosted Vrigu’s son Chābanya saying, "O Brahman, how powerful is Lavana? And what is the strength of his dart? What persons before had been destroyed by this dart in conflict?" Hearing the words of the high-souled descendant of Raghu,—Satrughna, the highly effulgent Chābanya replied saying.—"O descendant of Raghu, Lavana hath accomplished many works by this dart; amongst them, hear what Māndhāta, born in the race of Ikshwāku, did. The early king of Ayodhyā was known over the three worlds under the name of Māndhāta. He was the son of Yavanāshwa, highly powerful and strong. Having brought the whole world under his subjection the king Māndhāta engaged in the conquest of the celestial region. He having been engaged in making preparations to conquer the world of gods—the celestial chief Indra with other immortals was greatly terrified. With this promise, the king Māndhāta went up into the celestial region that he would occupy the half of Indra’s throne and kingdom and the celestials would adore him. Being apprised of this vicious intention of his, Indra, the slayer of Paka, consoled him in sweet words, saying;—'O foremost of men, even in the land of men, thou hast not been able to become the real king. Without perfectly subjugating the earth how dost thou wish to lord over the celestial kingdom? If the whole world is under thy subjection, O hero, be thou, with the whole host of thy servants and soldiers, installed on the celestial throne.' Indra having said this, the high-souled Māndhāta replied:—'O Sakra, who on this earth, hath disobeyed my commands?' Whereto Indra replied 'O sinless one, the night-ranger, Lavana, Madhu's son, living in Madhuvana, is not under thy control.' Hearing those dreadful and unpleasant words from Indra, the king lowered his head in shame and became silent. Thereupon, having welcomed Indra in that way, he left there and returned to earth. O slayer of enemies, with an angry heart, army and conveyance he went to subjugate Madhu's son Lavana and sent an emissary inviting him to battle. The ambassador, having gone there, addressed many unpleasant words unto Lavana and the night-ranger devoured him. On the other hand finding the delay of his return the king Māndhāta, enraged, began to assail the Rākshasa Lavana with arrows from all sides. Laughing wildly Lavana took up the dart in his hand and discharged it to destroy the king with his followers. Thereupon growing powerful the dart reduced the king with his servants and army into ashes and returned to Lavana. In this wise the high-souled king Māndhāta, with his huge army, was slain. O gentle hero, incomparable and great is the strength of the dart. Forsooth thou shalt slay Lavana next morning. Certain is thy victory if Lavana cannot take up his dart. People shall be at ease if thou canst bring about the destruction of Lavana. O foremost of men, I shall then describe unto thee the incomparable and dreadful prowess of the vicious-souled Lavana and his dart. O king, with great exertions did Lavana slay Māndhāta and not easily. O high-minded one, next morning thou shalt surely destroy Lavana. He shall issue out for flesh without taking his dart. And at that time, O lord of men, thou shalt, for sooth, be crowned will victory."
SECTION LXXXI.
They being thus engaged in conversation regarding his achieving victory without any danger Satrughna in no time passed the night. The clear morning having arrived, the heroic Lavana issued out of his city to collect food. In the meantime having crossed the river Yamunā, the heroic Satrughna, with bow in his hands, stood at the gate of Madhu’s city. Thereupon returning in the noon with many thousand animals, the night-ranger Lavana, of dreadful actions, espied Satrughna standing at the gate with a weapon in his hand. Thereupon he said:—"What shall thou do with this weapon? O vile wight, enraged I have devoured many thousand persons holding weapons like thee. I now perceive thou hast also been possessed by Kāla. O vile man, I am fully fed. How shall thou, of thy own accord, enter into my mouth?" Lavana having said this again and again laughing the great hero Satrughna shed tears in anger. The high-minded Satrughna being beside himself with rage, from all his person issued burning lustre. Greatly enraged he said to the night-ranger "O thou of a vicious intellect, I wish to enter into a duel encounter with thee. I am the son of the great king Daçaratha, brother of the intelligent Rāma and my name is Satrughna. I slay all my enemies and have come here to destroy thee. I wish now to fight with thee—do thou enter into a duel conflict. Thou art the enemy of all animals. Thou shall not be able to survive at my hands." He having said this, the Rākshasa, laughing aloud, replied unto that foremost of men;—"Thy understanding is bewildered. By the influence of destiny thou hast come under my control. The Rākshasa Rāvana was the brother of my aunts, o thou of vicious understanding, O vile wight, it is for his wife that Rāma did slay him. It is out of hatred that I have tolerated the destruction of Rāvana's family and have pardoned you all. You are all vile men; I have slain and defeated all of your family that have passed away and shall destroy all that are living and shall come into existence. O thou of vicious intellect, if thou wishest I shall fight with thee. Do thou wait here so long I do not bring my weapon. Do thou remain here as long as I with that shall not kill thee." Whereto Satrughna immediately replied "Where shalt thou go while I am alive? The practical men should never let off the enemies who come out of their own accord. He, who inviteth an enemy into battle under the influence of perverted understanding is slain like a coward. Do thou behold this world of creatures to thy hearts' content for I shall by various sharp weapons despatch thee to Yama's abode who is the enemy of the three worlds and Rāghava."