Image: Indrajit's Ceremony

Champhoowaraj turns into a huge bear and bites the Rothan tree to disrupt Intarachit's nagabat arrow ceremony

(B.J. McMorrow at pbase)

NCPedia:

Hanuman in disguise as a bear watches Ravana's demons making magical poisoned arrows, as seen in a mural at the Emerald Buddha Temple.

Ravana's demon son Intarachit sits upon a royal daybed in the forest in front of a giant tree stump as he makes the arrows. The poisoned arrows are treated with serpent venom and are intended to kill any enemy they strike. Ravana's demon courtiers watch in two groups at the lower left and right, while sepents providing the venom wriggle on the ground in the center.

Unnoticed, Hanuman is seen here in normal appearance at the right of the tree stump. Then, disguised as a bear, he watches from the giant tree stump above the demons as they make their arrows. He is using his special powers to interfere with the demons' effort to make the arrows deadly. The arrows then will fail to kill and defeat Rama's army in the next battle.

In the Ramayana, after Laksman recovers from his poisoned spear wound, Rama enters battle directly to meet Ravana's brother Kumprakarn who speared Laksman. Rama kills Kumprakarn, further enraging the demon king Ravana who turns to his son Intarachit. Intarachit has special powers of invincibility and can make magic weapons such as deadly arrows poisoned with serpent venom. Hanuman, disguised as a bear, interferes with the demon magic and ensures that the arrows will not be fatal, but rather will turn into snakes as they fall.

From the Thai Rubbings Site:

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Image: Indrajit in Battle

Indrajit in Battle

(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

From the Library site: Ravana's magician son Indrajit again advances on the monkey army, having brewed magic potions to make himself invisible at need. From his chariot and from the sky, where he is invisible, Indrajit overwhelms all the monkey leaders as well as Rama and Laksmana with his Brahma-weapons. They lie prostrate on the ground, riddled with arrows. Vibhisana and Hanuman seek out the wise bear Jambavan (also riddled with arrows), who tells Hanuman to look for the medicinal herbs which grow on the peaks of the Himalayas. Hanuman, using his power as the son of the wind god, assumes his true enormous size before taking off to cross the whole length of India.

You can read about the Indrajit's nagapasha, or snake-noose, at Wikipedia: "Upon impact, this weapon would bind the target in coils of living venomous snakes. In the Ramayana, it was used against Rama and Lakshmana by Indrajit."

Details: Indrajit; Hanuman in Giant Size

Image: Indrajit and Lakshmana

Indrajit fires an arrow at Lakshmana; Rama rides in on Hanuman
(Image source: Walters Art Museum)

More about Indrajit at Wikipedia.

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Image: Rama and Lakshmana Fallen

(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

Sita flies over the battlefield where she sees

Rama and Lakshmana are fallen,

Indrajit in battle

Ravana in court / Sita in the Ashoka grove

From the Library site: Indrajit, Ravana's son and a great magician, has made himself invisible and has pierced Rama and Laksmana with his magic weapons. Sahib Din suggests his invisibility by having him appear over the horizon (top left). Rama and Laksmana lie on the battlefield ensnared in these serpentine weapons, while the monkeys give way to despair. Indrajit returns in triumph to his father Ravana, who rises from his seat to congratulate him. Ravana then makes one of the female demons take Sita in his magic chariot over the battlefield to see her husband and his brother apparently lying slain. They are eventually released from their serpentine coils by the god Visnu's mount, the eagle Garuda, who comes down from heaven to rescue them.

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Image: Indrajit on the Battlefield

Indrajit on the battlefield

circa 1820

(Victoria and Albert Museum)

See Wikipedia for more about Indrajit.

From the Museum site: Painting, in opaque watercolour on paper, scene from the sixth part (Yuddha kanda) of the Ramayana. Ravana's son Indrajit is attacking Rama and Lakshmana with arrows that transform into snakes. Rama's bear and monkey allies are trying to repel the attack.

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Image: Indrajit and Lakshmana

Image source: Lakshmana hit by Indrajit's arrows

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