Canto 1: Bāla-kāṇḍa (Boyhood)Chapter 17: Brahmā Orders the Demigods to Incarnate and Assist RāmaText 1.17.36
Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 17: Brahmā Orders the Demigods to Incarnate and Assist Rāma
Text 1.17.36
तैर्मेघवृन्दाचलकूटकल्पैर्महाबलैर्वानरयूथपालैः।
बभूव भूर्भीमशरीररूपैः समावृता रामसहायहेतोः॥
tair megha-vṛndācala-kūṭa-kalpair
mahā-balair vānara-yūtha-pālaiḥ
babhūva bhūr bhīma-śarīra-rūpaiḥ
samāvṛtā rāma-sahāya-hetoḥ
taiḥ megha-vṛndācala-kūṭa-kalpaiḥ = like mountain tops with clouds; mahā-balaiḥ = of great strength; vānara-yūtha-pālaiḥ = with monkey chiefs; babhūva = became; bhūh = the earth; bhīma-śarīra-rūpaiḥ = and with fierce bodily forms; samāvṛtā = filled; rāma-sahāya-hetoḥ = to assist Lord Rāma.
To assist Lord Rāma, the earth became filled with monkey chiefs of great strength and with fierce bodily forms, like mountain tops with clouds.
The author then resummarizes the events narrated in this chapter.
NOTE. Texts 12 and 15 state that Gandhamādana was Kuvera’s son, Suṣeṇa was Varuṇa’s son and Śarabha was Parjanya’s son. On the other hand, in Yuddha-kāṇḍa (Rāmāyaṇa 6.30.23, 27), Śārdūla, a spy sent by Rāvaṇa to examine Lord Rāmacandra’s army, tells Rāvaṇa that Suṣeṇa was born of Dharma and that Śarabha and Gandhamādana were sons of Vaivasvata. How can this be reconciled? The commentator notes in his commentary to Rāmāyaṇa 6.30.23 that authorities state that the Suṣeṇa referred to by Śārdūla is different from Suṣeṇa, the son of Varuṇa, and that the same applies to Śarabhaṅga and Gandhamādana. This isn’t surprising because there were 1,000,000,000 leaders among the monkeys on war with Rāvaṇa’s army.