Week 4 Reading B: Ramakien, Part F

72. Totsakan goads Koompakan to fight. Treetap and Mekanat go from Badan to Totsakan and tell him Maiyarap's death. Totsakan now asks his brother Koompakan to fight Ram, but he tells Totsakan to just give Sida back. They debate. Finally Koompakan agrees to fight. Pipek asks Ram to show mercy to him, so Pipek goes to greet him. Pipek asks him to join Ram. Koompakan offers a riddle: Who is the stupid woman? What is the name of the malicious cheater? Who is the elephant with long tusks? And who is the traitorous man? Ram sends Ongkot to Koompakan to try to extract the answer. Koompakan says that Totsakan is the elephant, Ram is the cheat, the woman is Samanakha and the traitor is Pipek. "Tell Ram that I challenge him to battle, as he already knows from my riddle!" So the war begins.

73. Koompakan captures Sukreep. Koompakan faces Sukreep. He taunts Sukreep into fetching a Rang tree, and this effort weakens him, so Koompakan then attacks and carries Sukreep away. Hanuman attacks and recovers Sukreep.

74. Koompakan fights with his wonder-spear. Koompakan gets the magic Mokhasak spear from the god Atchada Prohm, but Atchada does not like that Koompakan is fighting against Ram. Pipek warns them to disrupt Koompakan's magic ceremony to power the spear. Hanuman and Ongkot turn into a dead dog being eaten by a crow to pollute the place. The ceremony is not done, but Koompakan is going to use the spear anyway. In a fierce battle, Koompakan hits Lak with the spear.

75. How Pra Lak was saved. No one can pull the spear out; Pipek tells Hanuman to go get the Sangkoranee and Threechawa herbs, but they only have one day. Hanuman tries to stop the sun chariot and gets burned; Pra Ahtit agrees to hide behind the clouds to give Hanuman more time. He flies to the mountain, calls to the herbs, and they answer but he cannot find them. He uses his tail to force the herbs to the top and picks them, and then flies to Ayutaya to ask for water from Mount Mahanatee. Phrot and Satrud give him the water. Pipek then heals Lak who awakes thinking he is in the land of the dead. "But Pra Ram comforted him, 'We are both alive.'"

76. Koompakan makes the monkeys thirsty. Koompakan plans to dam the river. He tells his consort, Kantamalee. Hanuman disguises himself as a woman to spy on Kantamalee. He then disguises himself as a falcon, kills Kantamalee, and takes her place. He goes with the maidens to Koompakan and fights him. Koompakan flees and Hanuman starts the water flowing again.

77. Koompakan is killed. There are terrible omens as Koompakan rides into battle. Koompakan laments his bad choices, asking Ram to watch over to Pipek and to send him to heaven. Ram has pity on him and sends Koompakan to Paradise, killing him.

78. Intorachit enters the war. Pipek foretells Intorachit's coming, and Lak goes to lead the army. He and Intorachit taunt each other, then Lak uses the Pralaiwat arrow to destroy Intorachit's chariot. He wounds Intorachit, but it is not fatal.

79. Mangkonkan is killed. While Intorachit engages in rituals to power his Nakabat weapon, Totsakan summons his nephew Mangkonkan (the evil water buffalo Torapee reborn). Pipek foretells Mangkonkan's coming and tells Ram to lead the army. They fight. Mankongkan multiplies himself. Ram's Prohmat arrow finds the true Mangkonkan and beheads him; all the copies fall down dead.

80. Intorachit fights with the serpent arrow Nakabat. Pipek explains how to disrupt Intorachit's magical ceremony. Champoowarat asks to carry out the mission. He takes the form of a bear and succeeds in scaring off the snake that Intorachit had summoned. The enraged Intorachit leads the army into battle. Wiroonyamook takes comman and uses magic to make himself invisible. They are able to tangle him in a diamond net, but he escaped. Intorachit used the Nakabat to send serpents; Pipek tells Ram to summon the Krut and save them. The Krut flock came and chased away the serpents. Intorachit vows revenge!

81. Intorachit disguises himself as Pra Indra. Intorachit prepared the Prohmat arrow. He then transforms demons to look like Erawan and Indra's retinue. Hanuman sees through the trick, but Lak does not listen. Intorachit attacks and even Hanuman is not able to stop him.

82. How the dead were revived. Ram finds Lak, Hanuman, Sukreep, and the others fallen on the field of battle, and he faints with grief. Totsakan prepares to send Sida out in the Butsabok to show her Ram is dead. Treechada consoles her that Ram cannot be dead because the Butsabok will not carry a widow. Weirdly, Sida goes back to Longka! Pipek and the others came back from gathering food to find the disaster. Hanuman regains consciousness, and Campoopan is also alive, and Hanuman revives Ram. Now Hanuman needs to fetch herbs from Mount Awut; their fragrance could revive the army. This time Hanuman brings the whole mountain; an angel helps him carry it, and the Wind God blows the fragrance. The dead come back to life.

Chompoopan