He had been prepared to fight, to battle any number of opponents, wage war single-handedly if need be. He had been unalarmed by the flying mountain, by the giant sea-serpent; he'd expected resistance, fighting, bloodshed. But this was a war for which he had no armour. A battle that he was not prepared for. Yet he fought. His head reeled, his senses swam. He was lost, lost in a world not of his understanding, succumbing to a struggle against which he had no means of retaliation. Then a single word swam to the surface of his beleaguered mind:
Rama
He repeated it, felt it's graceful syllables on his mind's tongue
Rama
It brought solace. The ocean paused in its churning turmoil, the flood abated a brief instant, the quicksand ceased its relentless sucking. He recited it with adoring respect, like a mantra against unseen evils.
Ramaramaramarama........
The sound of his own voice was like the gasp of a drowning man after regaining the surface, gulping in his first breath of air after long moments of agony.
He repeated it again, firmer and more resolute.
Rama!
The hordes seeking to pull him down, drag him into the depths of hell itself, drew back fearfully. The hands clutching at him fell away.
Rama, he said, softly, reverentially.
And flexed his body.
They fell away like shackles unchained, drawing away from the source of light.
RAMA!
He boomed, his voice expanding to fill the vast Cavern of Sin. They were screaming now, unable to bear the sound of the Forbidden name. He repeated it over and over, relishing his power over them, at the manner in which each repetition leached the lust out of this hellish place, leaving it a little cleaner, less impure.
Hanuman sat up, then rose to his feet.
" I AM THE SERVANT OF LORD RAMA WHO ACCOMPLISHES HIS GOALS AGAINST ANY AND ALL ODDS!"
"MARYADA PURSHOTTAM RAMA!"
Rama
He repeated it, felt it's graceful syllables on his mind's tongue
Rama
It brought solace. The ocean paused in its churning turmoil, the flood abated a brief instant, the quicksand ceased its relentless sucking. He recited it with adoring respect, like a mantra against unseen evils.
Ramaramaramarama........
The sound of his own voice was like the gasp of a drowning man after regaining the surface, gulping in his first breath of air after long moments of agony.
He repeated it again, firmer and more resolute.
Rama!
The hordes seeking to pull him down, drag him into the depths of hell itself, drew back fearfully. The hands clutching at him fell away.
Rama, he said, softly, reverentially.
And flexed his body.
They fell away like shackles unchained, drawing away from the source of light.
RAMA!
He boomed, his voice expanding to fill the vast Cavern of Sin. They were screaming now, unable to bear the sound of the Forbidden name. He repeated it over and over, relishing his power over them, at the manner in which each repetition leached the lust out of this hellish place, leaving it a little cleaner, less impure.
Hanuman sat up, then rose to his feet.
" I AM THE SERVANT OF LORD RAMA WHO ACCOMPLISHES HIS GOALS AGAINST ANY AND ALL ODDS!"
"MARYADA PURSHOTTAM RAMA!"
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