Passage 1
ब्रह्मोवाच— कदाचिदसुरौ लोके प्रबलौ बाणरावणौ। रामपादुकयोस्तादृक् श्रुत्वा माहात्म्यमुत्तमम्॥१॥
Brahmā said: Once the two mighty demons Bāṇa and Rāvaṇa heard in the world of the extraordinary and supreme greatness of Rāma's sandals.
Passage 2
अमर्षपूरितहृदौ तयोर्हरणकामुकौ। आजग्मतुर्योगपीठं निहिते यत्र ते उभे॥२॥
Their hearts filled with resentment and desiring to steal them, the two came to the sacred throne where the sandals had been placed.
Passage 3
प्रपूज्य पञ्चकालं तु भरतो भक्तिमान् परम्। विधाय नृत्यगीतादि तयोः पुरत आदृतः॥३॥
Devout Bharata had worshiped them through the five appointed periods and had reverently performed dance, song, and other offerings before them.
Passage 4
यथाकालं महीपृष्ठे संस्तीर्याजिनमासनम्। सुष्वाप यामे तृतीये निशीथिन्याः समाहितः॥४॥
At the proper time he spread a deerskin seat upon the ground and, composed in mind, slept during the third watch of the night.
Passage 5
प्रसुप्तं तमभिज्ञाय दुष्टौ तावसुरेश्वरौ। उपेयतुर्हरणकामौ पादुकापीठमुत्तमम्॥५॥
Knowing that he was asleep, the two wicked demon lords approached the sandals' exalted throne, intent on carrying them away.
Passage 6
तत्र विश्वक् तयोर्भासा भासितं सकलं तु तत्। योगपीठालयं वीक्ष्य विस्मयं ययतुः परम्॥६॥
There the entire shrine of the sacred throne shone everywhere with the sandals' radiance. Seeing it, the demons were filled with supreme wonder. The Sandals Cannot Be Moved
Passage 7
अथ तौ बलसन्दृप्तौ हेलयैवेशपादुके। उद्धर्तुं योगपीठात्पदं नाचलतां तु ते॥७॥
Then, intoxicated by their strength, the two contemptuously tried to lift the Lord's sandals from the sacred throne, but the sandals did not move even a step.
Passage 8
उद्धर्तुकामावसुरौ प्रयत्नं भूरि चक्रतुः। महासारगरिष्ठे ते वोढुं नाशकतां खलौ॥८॥
Desiring to raise them, the demons made immense efforts, but the wicked pair could not carry those sandals, weightier than the greatest substance.
Passage 9
हराचलं समुत्पाट्य हेलयैव बभार यः। स रावणोऽतिबलवान् बभूव वितथोद्यमः॥९॥
Rāvaṇa, so powerful that he once uprooted Śiva's mountain and bore it with ease, found his effort futile.
Passage 10
यः सहस्रभुजो बाणः समस्ताधिकसारवान्। स रामपादुके वोढुं नाशकत्त्रययाञ्चितः॥१०॥
Bāṇa, whose thousand arms possessed strength greater than all others, could not carry Rāma's sandals despite his exertion.
Passage 11
यावद्वीर्यबलोद्रिक्तप्रयत्नाहितदोर्युगौ। तौ बाणरावणौ तत्र ललज्जाते तरां हृदि॥११॥
Bāṇa and Rāvaṇa applied both arms with all the effort born of their swollen strength and valor, but there they felt profound shame in their hearts.
Passage 12
ततस्तौ लज्जितौ भूत्वा बाहुवीर्यबलक्षयात्। स्वं स्वं स्थानं वीतदर्पौ यथागतमुपेयतुः॥१२॥
Thus humiliated when the power and valor of their arms failed, the two lost their pride and returned by the way they had come to their respective homes. The Sandals' Universal Reign
Passage 13
एवं ते भरताराध्ये श्रीरामपदपादुके। चक्राते परमं राज्यमेकच्छत्रं तदा भुवः॥१३॥
Thus the sandals of Śrī Rāma's feet, worshiped by Bharata, exercised supreme and undivided sovereignty over the earth.
Passage 14
धरण्यां सागरान्तायां धर्मनीतिरवर्तत। खलाः प्रशमिता आसन् साधवो मुदिताशयाः॥१४॥
Throughout the earth as far as the ocean, righteous governance prevailed. The wicked were subdued, and the hearts of the good were joyful.
Passage 15
देवदानवगन्धर्वमनुष्या मुनिसत्तमाः। स्वे स्वे मनसि सर्वेऽपि प्रत्ययं लेभिरेतयोः॥१५॥
Gods, demons, gandharvas, humans, and the foremost sages all gained conviction in the sandals, each within his own heart. *Thus ends Chapter Fifty-four, “The Defeat of Bāṇa and Rāvaṇa,” in the Reign of the Sandals within the Southern Book of the dialogue of Brahmā and Bhuśuṇḍi in the venerable primal Rāmāyaṇa.*