As in the frame of man the eye Keeps watch and ward, a careful spy, The monarch in his wide domains Protects the truth, the right maintains. He is the right, the truth is he, Their hop<^s in him the well-born see. On him his people's lives depend, Mother is he, and sire, and friend. The world were veiled in blinding night, And none could see or know aright, Ruled there no king in any state The good and ill to separate. We will obey thy word and will As if our king were living still: As keeps his bounds the faithful sea, So we observe thy high decree. O best of Brahmans, first in place, Our kingless land lies desolate: Some scion of Ikshvaku's race Do thou as monarch consecrate.'
CANTO LXVIIL THE ENVOYS.
Vasishtha heard their speech and prayer, And thus addressed the concourse there, Friends, Brahmans, counsellors, and all Assembled in the palace hall: ' Ye know that Bharat, free from care, Still lives in Kajagriha1 where The father of his mother reigns: &atrughna by his side remains. Let active envoys, good at need, Thither on fleetest horses speed, To bring the hero youths away: Why waste the time in dull delay?'
Quick came from all the glad reply: 4 Vasishtha, let the envoys fly.' He heard their speech, and thus renewed His charge before the multitude: * Nandan, Asok, Siddharth, attend, Your ears, Jayanta, Vijay, lend: Be yours, what need requires, to do: I speak these words to all of you. With coursers of the fleetest breed To Rajagriha's city speed.
Then rid your bosoms of distress, And Bharat thus from me address: * The household priest and peers by us Send health to thee and greet thee thus: Come to thy father's home with haste: Thine absent time no longer waste.' But speak no word of Rama fled, Tell not the prince his sire is dead, Nor to the royal youth the fate That ruins Raghu's race relate. Go quickly hence, and with you bear Fine silken vestures rich and rare, And gems and many a precious thing As gifts to Bharat and the king.'
With ample stores of food supplied, Each to his home the envoys hied, Prepared, with steeds of swiftest race, To Kekaya's land2 their way to trace. They made all due provision there, And every need arranged with care, Then ordered by Vasishtha, they Went forth with speed upon their way. Then northward of Pralamba, west Of Apartala, on they pressed, Crossing the Malini that flowed With gentle stream athwart the road. They traversed Ganga's holy waves 1 Rajagriha,orGirivraja was the capital of Asvapati, Bharat's maternal grand father.
s The Kekayas or Kaikayas in the Punjab appear amongst the chief nations in the war of the Mahabharata; their king being a kinsman of Krishna, THE RAM AY AN.
Hooh II.
Where she Hastinapura1 laves, Thence to Panchala2 westward fast Through Kurujangal's land3 they passed. On, on their course the envoys held By urgency of task impelled. Quick glancing at each lucid flood And sweet lake gay with flower and bud. Beyond, they passed unwearied o'er, Where glad birds till the flood and shore Of $aradanda racing fleet With heavenly water clear and sweet, Thereby a tree celestial grows Which every boon on prayer bestows: To its blest shade they humbly bent, Then to Kulinga's town they went. Then, having passed the Warrior's Wood, In Abhikala next they stood, O'er sacred Ikshumati4 came, Their ansient kings' ancestral claim, They saw the learned Brahmans stand, Each drinking from his hollowed hand, And through Bahika5 journeying still They reached at length Sudaman's hill: There Vishnu's footstep turned to see, Vipasa6 viewed, and Salmali, And many a lake and river met, Tank, pool, and pond, and rivulet. And lions saw, and tigers near, And elephants and herds of deer, And still, by prompt obedience led, Along the ample road they sped. Then when their course so swift and long, Had worn their steeds though fleet and strong, To Girivraja's splendid town They came by night, and lighted down.
1 Hastinapura was the capital of the kingdom of Kuru, near the modern Delhi.
* The Panchalas occupied the upper part of the Doab, 3 ' Kurujangala and its inhabitants are frequently mentioned in the Mahdbhdrata, as in the Adi-parv. 3789, 4337, et ai: WILSON'S Vishnu Pur ana. Vol. II. p. 176. DR. HALL'S Note.
* ' The "O^vfjiaTig of Arrian. See As. Res. Vol XV. p. 420, 421, also Indische AltertJiumskunde,Vol. I. p. 602, first foot- note.' WILSON'S Vishnu Parana, Vol. I. p. 421. DR. HALL'S Edition. The Ikshumati was a river in Kurukshetra.
5 ' The Bahikas are described in the Mahabharata, Karna Parvan, with some detail, and comprehend the different na- tions of the Punjab from the Sutlej to the Indus.' WILSON'S Vishnu Purdna. Vol. I.
6 The Beas, Hyphasis, or Bibasis.
To please their master, and to guard The royal race, the lineal right, The envoys, spent with riding hard, To that fair city came by night.1 CANTO LXIX.
BHARAT'S DREAM.
The night those messengers of state Had past within the city's gate, In dreams the slumbering Bharatsaw A sight that chilled his soul with awe. The dream that dire events foretold Left Bharat's heart with horror cold, 1 It would be lost labour to attempt to verify all the towns and streams mention- ed in Cantos LXVIII and LXXII. Pro- fessor Wilson observes ( Vishnu Purdna, p. 139. Dr. Hall's Edition) 'States, and tribes, and cities have disappeared, even from recollection; and some of the natural features of the country, especially the rivers, have undergone a total alteration Notwithstanding these impediments, how- ever, we should be able to identify at least mountains and rivers, to a much greater extent than is now practicable, if our maps were not so miserably defective in their nomenclature. None of.our surve- yors or geographers have been oriental scholars. It may be doubted if any of them have been conversant with the spoken language of the country. They have, con- sequently, put down names at random, ac- cording to their own inaccurate appre- ciation of sounds carelessly, vulgarly, and corruptly uttered; and their maps of India are crowded with appellations which bear no similitude whatever either to past or present denominations. We need not wonder that we cannot discover Sanskrit names in English maps, when, in the im- mediate vicinity of Calcutta, Barnagore represents Barahanagar, Dakshineswar is metamorphosed into Duckinsore, and Ulubaria into Willoughbury...There is scarcely a name in our Indian maps that does not afford proof of extreme in- difference to accuracy in nomenclature, and of an incorrectness in estimating sounds, which is, in some degree, perhaps, a national defect.'
For further information regarding the road from Ayodhya to Rajagriha, see Additional Notes* Canto LXX.
THE RAM AY AN.
And with consuming woes distraught, Upon his aged sire he thought. His dear companions, swift to traoe The signs of anguish on his face, Drew near, his sorrow to expel, And pleasant tales began to tell. Some woke sweet music's cheering sound, And others danced in lively round. With joke and jest they strove to raise His spirits, quoting ancient plays; But Bharat still, the lofty-souled, Deaf to sweet tales his fellows told, Unmoved by music, dance, and jest, Sat silent, by his woe oppressed. To him, begirt by comrades near, Thus spoke the friend he held most dear: 4 Why ringed around by friends, art thou So silent and so mournful now?' ' Hear thou,' thus Bharat made reply, * What chills my heart and dims mine eye. I dreamt I saw the king my sire Sink headlong in a lake of mire Down from a mountain high in air, His body soiled, and loose his hair. Upon the miry lake he seemed To lie and welter, as I dreamed; With hollowed hands full many a draught Of oil he took, and loudly laughed. With head cast down 1 saw him make A meal on sesamum and cake; The oil from every member dripped, And in its clammy flood he dipped. The ocean's bed was bare and dry, The moon had fallen from the s^ And all the world lay still and dead, With whelming darkness overspread.
The earth was rent and opened wide, The leafy trees were scorched, and died; I saw the seated mountains split, And wreaths of rising smoke emit. The stately beast the monarch rode His long tusks rent and splintered showed; And flames that quenched and cold had lain Blazed forth with kindled light again. I looked, and many a handsome dame, Arrayed in brown and sable came And bore about the monarch, dressed, On iron stool, in sable vest. And then the king, of virtuous mind, A blood-red wreath around him twined, Forth on an ass-drawn chariot sped, As southward still he bent his head. Then, crimson-clad, a dame appeared Who at the monarch laughed and jeered; And a she-monster, dire to view, Her hand upon his body threw. Such is the dream I dreamt by night, Which chills me yet with wild affright: Either the king or Rama, I Or Lakshman now must surely die. For when an ass-drawn chariot seems To bear away a man in dreams, Be sure above his funeral pyre The smoke soon rears its cloudy spire.
This makes my spirit low and weak, My tongue is slow and loth to speak: My lips and throat are dry for dread, And all my soul disquieted.
My lips, relaxed, can hardly speak, And chilling dread has changed my cheek I blame myself in aimless fears, And still no cause of blame appears.
I dwell upon this dream of ill Whose changing scenes I viewed, And on the startling horror still My troubled thoughts will brood. Still to my soul these terrors cling, Reluctant to depart, And the strange vision of the king Still weighs upon my heart,' CANTO LXX. BHARAT'S DEPARTURE.
While thus he spoke, the envoys borne On horses faint and travel-worn Had gained the city fenced around With a deep moat's protecting bound. An audience of the king they gained, And honours from the prince obtained; The monarch's feet they humbly pressed, To Bharat next these words addressed: ' The household priest and peers by us Send health to thee and greet thee thus: * Come to thy father's house with haste: Thine absent time no longer waste. Keceive these vestures rich and rare, These costly gems and jewels fair, And to thy uncle here present Each precious robe and ornament. These for the king and him suffice—- Two hundred millions is their price— These, worth a hundred millions, be Reserved. O large-eyed Prince, for thee.1 Loving his friends with heart and soul, The joyful prince received the whole, Due honour to the envoys paid, And thus in turn his answer made: ' Of Dasaratha tidings tell: Is the old king my father well? Is Rama, and is Lakshman, he Of the high-soul, from sickness free? And she who walks where duty leads, Kauialy&, known for gracious deeds, Mother of Rama, loving spouse, Bound to her lord by well kept vows? And Lakshman's mother too, the dame Sumitra skilled in duty's claim, Who brave Satrughna also bare, Second in age,— her health declare.
THE RAMAYAN.
Boole 12.
And she, in self-conceit most sage, With selfish heart most prone to rage, My mother, fares she well? has she Sent message or command to me?'
Thus Bharat spake, the mighty- soul ed, And they in brief their tidings told: ' All they of whom thou askest dwell, O lion lord, secure and well: Thine all the smiles of fortune are: Make ready; let them yoke the car.'
Thus by the royal envoys pressed, Bharat again the band addressed: ' I go with you: no long delay, A single hour I bid you stay.' Thus Bharat, son of him who swayed Ayodhyas realm, his answer made, And then bespoke, his heart to please, His mother's sire in words like these; * I go to see my father, King, Urged by the envoys' summoning; And when thy soul desires to see Thy grandson, will return to thee.* The king his grandsire kissed his head, And in reply to Bharat said: ' Go forth, dear child; how blest is she, The mother of a son like thee! Greet well thy sire, thy mother greet, O thou whose arms the foe defeat; The household priest, and all the rest Amid the Twice-born chief and best; And Rama and brave Lakshman, who Shoot the long shaft with aim so true.'
To him the king high honour showed, And store of wealth and gifts bestowed, The choicest elephants to ride, And skins and blankets deftly dyed, A thousand strings of golden beads, And sixteen hundred mettled steeds; And boundless wealth before him piled Gave Kekaya to Kaikeyi's child. And men of counsel, good and tried, On whose firm truth he aye relied, King Asvapati gave with speed Prince Bharat on his way to lead. And noble elephants, strong and young, From sires of Indrasira sprung, And others tall and fair to view Of great Airavat's lineage true: And well yoked asses fleet of limb The prince his uncle gave to him. Arid dogs within the palace bred, Of body vast and massive head, With mighty fangs for battle, brave, The tiger's match in strength, he gave. Yet Bharat's bosom hardly glowed To see the wealth the king bestowed; For he would speed that hour away, Such care upon his bosom lay: Those eager envoys urged him thence, And that sad vision's influence. He left hia court-yard, crowded then With elephants and steeds and men, And, peerless in immortal fame, To the great royal street he came.
He saw, as farther still he went, The inner rooms most excellent, And passed the doors, to him unclosed, Where check nor bar his way pppossd.
There Bharat stayed to bid adieu To grandsire and to uncle too, Then, with ^atrughna by his side, Mounting his car, away he hied.
The strong-wheeled cars were yoked, and they More than a hundred, rolled away: Servants, with horses, asses, kine, Followed their lord in endless line. So, guarded by his own right hand, Forth high-souled Bharat hied, Surrounded by a lordly band On whom the king relied. Beside him sat $atrughna dear, The scourge of trembling foes: Thus from the light of Indra's sphere A saiut made perfect goes.
CANTO LXXI.
BHARAT'S RETURN.
Then Bharat's face was eastward bent As from the royal town he went. He reached Sudama's farther side, And glorious, gazed upon the tide; Passed Hladini, arid saw her toss Her westering billows hard to cross. Then old Ikshvdku's famous sou O'er Satadru1 his passage won, Near Ailadhana on the strand, And came to Aparparyat's land. O'er Vila's flood he hurried fast, Akurvati's fair stream he passed, Crossed o'er Agneya's rapid'rill, And Salyakartan onward still. 6ilavaha's swift stream he eyed, True to his vows and purified, Then crossed the lofty hills, and stood In Chaitraratha's mighty wood. He reached the confluence where meet Sarasvati2 and Ganga fleet, And through Bharunda forest, spread Northward of Viramatsya, sped. He sought Kalinda's child, who fills 1 'The £atadru, ' the hundred-channel- led ' — the Zaradrus of Ptolemy, Hesydrua of Pliny— is the Sutlej.' WILSON'S Vishnu Purdna, Vol. II. p. 130.
2 The Sarasvati or Sursooty is a tri- butary of the Caggar or Guggur in Sirhind.
Canto LXXL THE RAM AY AN.
The soul with joy, begirt by hills, Beached Yamuna, and passing o'er, Kested his army on the shore: He gave his horses food and rest, Bathed reeking limb and drooping crest.
They drank their fill and bathed them there, And water for their journey bare.
Thence through a mighty wood he sped All wild and uninhabited, As in fair chariot through the skies, Most fair in shape a Storui-God flies.
At Ansudhana Ganga, hard To cross, his onward journey barred, So turning quickly thence he came To Pragvat's city dear to fame, There having gained the farther side To Kutikoshtika he hied: The stream he crossed, and onward then To Dharmavardhan brought his men.
Thence, leaving Toran on the north, To Jambuprastha journeyed forth.
Then onward to a pleasant grove By fair Varutha's town he drove, And when a while he there had stayed, Went eastward from the friendly shade.
Eastward of Qjjihana where The Priyak trees are tall and fair, He parsed, and rested there each steed •Exhausted with the journey's speed.
There orders to his men addressed, With quickened pace he onward pressed, A while at Sarvatirtha spent, Then o'er Uttanika he went.
O'er many a stream beside he sped With coursers on the mountains bred, And passing Hastiprishthak, took The road o'er Kutika's fair brook.
Then, at Lohitya's village, he Crossed o'er the swift Kapivati, Then passed, where Ekasala stands, The Sthanumati's flood and sands, And Gomati of fair renown By Vinata's delightful town.
When to Kalinga near he drew, A wood of Sal trees charmed the view; That passed, the sun began to rise, And Bharat saw with happy eyes, Ayodhya's city, built and planned By ancient M ami's royal hand.
Seven nights upon the road had passed, And when he saw the town at last Before him in her beauty spread, Thus Bharat to the driver said: * This glorious city from afar, Wherf:in pure groves and gardens are, Seems to my eager eyes to-day A lifeless pile of yellow clay.
Through all her streets where erst a throng Of men and women streamed along, Uprose the multitudinous roar:.
To-day I hear that sonnd no more.
No longer do mine eyes behold The leading people, as of old, On elephants, cars, horses, go Abroad and homeward, to and fro.
The brilliant gardens, where we heard The wild note of each rapturous bird, Where men and women loved to meet, In pleasant shades, for pastime sweet, — These to my eyes this day appear Joyless, and desolate, and drear: Each tree that graced the garden grieves, And every patli is spread with leaves.
The merry cry of bird and beast, That spake aloud their joy, has ceased: Still is the long melodious note That charmed us from each warbling throat.
Why blows the blessed air no more, The incense-breathing air that bore Its sweet incomparable'scent Of sandal and of aloe blent?
Why are the drum and tabour mute?
Why is the music of the lute That woke responsive to the quill.
Loved by the happy, hushed and still?
My boding spirit gathers hence Dire sins of awful consequence, And omens, crowding on my sight, Weigh down my soul with wild affright.
Scarce shall I h'nd my friends who dwell Here in Ayodhya safe and well: For surely not without a cause This crushing dread my soul o'erawes,' Heart-sick, dejected, every sense Confused by terror's influence, On to the town he quickly swept Which King Ikshvaku's children kept. He passed through Vaijayanta's gate, With weary steeds, disconsolate, And all who near their station held, His escort, crying Victory, swelled, With heart distracted still he bowed Farewell to all the following crowd, Turned to the driver and began To question thus the weary man: 'Why was I brought, O free from blame, So fast, unknown for what I came? Yet fear of ill my heart appals, And all my wonted courage falls. For I have heard in days gone by The changes seen when monarchs die; And all those signs, O charioteer, I see to-day surround me here: Each kinsman's house looks dark and grim, No hand delights to keep it trim: The beauty vanished, and the pride, The doors, unkept, stand open wide. No morning rites are offered there, No grateful incense loads the air, And all therein, with brows o'ercast, Sit joyless on the ground and fast. Their lovely chaplets dry and dead, THE RAM AY AN.
Boole II.
Their courts unswept, with dust o'erspread, The temples of the Gods to-day No more look beautiful and gay. Neglected stands each holy shrne, Each image of a Lord divine. No shop where flowery wreaths are sold Is bright and busy as of old. The women and the men I mark Absorbed in fancies dull and dark, Their gloomy eyes with tears bedewed, A poor afflicted multitude.'
His mind oppressed with woe and dread, Thus Bharat to his driver said, Viewed the dire signs Ayodhya showed, And onward to the palace rode, CANTO LXXII. BHARAT'S INQUIRY.
He entered in, he looked around, Nor in the house his father found; Then to his mother's dwelling, bent To see her face, he quickly went. She saw her son, so long away, Returning after many a day, And from her golden seat in joy Sprang forward to her darling boy. Within the bovver, no longer bright, Came Bharat lover of the right, And bending with observance sweet Clasped his dear mother's lovely feet. Long kisses on his brow she pressed, And held her hero to her breast, Then fondly drew him to her knees, And questioned him in words like these: ' How many nights have fled, since thou Leftest thy grandsire's home, till now 2 By flying steeds so swiftly borne, Art thou not weak and travel-worn? How fares the king my father, tell; Is Yudhajit thine uncle well? And now, my son, at length declare The pleasures of the visit there.'
Thus to the offspring of the king She spake with tender questioning, And to his mother made reply Young Bharat of the lotus eye: * 1 The seventh night has come and fled Since from my grandsire's home I sped: My mother's sire is well, and he, Yudhajit, from all trouble free. The gold and eveiy precious thing Presented by the conqueror king, The slower guards behind convey: I left them weary on the way. Urged by the men my father sent, My hasty course I hither bent: Now, I implore, an answer deign, And all I wish to know, explain.
Unoccupied I now behold This couch of thine adorned with gold, And each of King Ikshvaku's race Appears with dark and gloomy face. The king is aye, my mother dear, Most constant in his visits here. To meet my sire I sought this spot: How is it that I find him not? I long to clasp my father's feet: Say where he lingers, I entreat. Perchance the monarch may be seen Where dwells Kausalya, eldest queen.'
His father's fate, from him concealed, Kaikeyi to her son revealed: Told as glad news the story sad, For lust of sway had made her mad: ' Thy father, O my darling, know, Has gone the way all life must go: Devout and famed, of lofty thought, In whom the good their refuge sought.'
When Bharat pious, pure, and true, Heard the sad words which pierced him through, Grieved for the sire he loved so well Prostrate upon the ground he fell: Down fell the strong-armed hero, high Tossing his arms, and a sad cry, * Ah, woe is me, unhappy, slain!' Burst from his lips again, again, Afflicted for his father's fate By grief's intolerable weight, With every sense amazed and cowed The splendid hero wailed aloud: * Ah me, my royal father's bed Of old a gentle radiance shed, Like the pure sky when clouds are past, And the moon's light is o'er it cast: Ah, of its wisest lord bereft, It shows to-day faint radiance left, As when the moon has left the sky, Or mighty Ocean's depths are dry.'
With choking sobs, with many a tear. Pierced to the heart with grief sincere, The best of conquerors poured his sighs, And with his robe veiled face and eyes. Kaikeyi saw him fallen there, Godlike, afflicted, in despair, Used every art to move him thence, And tried him thus with eloquence: 4 Arise, arise, my dearest; why Wilt thou, famed Prince, so lowly lie? Not by such grief as this are moved Good men like thee, by all approved. The earth thy father nobly swayed, And rites to Heaven he duly paid. At length his race of life was run: Thou shouldst not mourn for him, my son.'
Long on the ground he wept, and rolled From side to side, still unconsoled, And then, with bitter grief oppressed, His mother with these words addressed: Canto LXXIII.
THE RAMA TAN.
* This joyful hope my bosom fed When from my grancUire's halls I sped — ' The king will throne his eldest son, And sacrifice, as should be done.' But ail is changed, my hope was vain, And this sad heart is rent in twain, For my dear father's face I miss, Who ever sought his loved ones' bliss. But in my absence, mother, say, What sickness took my sire away? Ah, happy Rama, happy they Allowed his funeral rites to pay! The glorious monarch has not learned That I his darling have returned, Or quickly had he hither sped, And pressed his kisses on my head. Where is that hand whose gentle touch, Most soft and kind I loved so much, The hand that loved to brush away The dust that on his darling lay? Quick, bear the news to Rama's ear; Tell the great chief that I am here: Brother, and sire, and friend, and all Is he, and I his trusty thrall. For noble hearts, to virtue true, Their sires in elder brothers view. To clasp his feet I fain would bow: He is my hope and refuge now. What said my glorious sire, who knew Virtue and vice, so brave and true? Firm in his vows, dear lady, say, What said he ere he passed awa'y? What was his rede to me? I crave To hear the last advice he gave.'
Thus closely questioned by the youth, Kaikeyi spoke the mournful truth: * The high -souled monarch wept and sighed, For Rama, Sita, Lakshman, cried, Then, best of all who go to bliss, Passed to the world which follows this.
' Ah, blessed are the people who *Shall Rama and his Sita view, And Lakshman of the mighty arm, Returning free' from scathe and harm.' Such were the words, the last of all, Thy father, ere he died, let fall, By Fate and Death's dread coils en wound, As some great elephant is bound.'
He heard, yet deeper in despair, Her lips this double woe declare, And withj-sad brow that showed his pain Questioned his mother thus again: 4 But where is he, of virtue tried, Who fills Kausalya's heart with pride, Where is the noble Rama? where Is Lakshman brave, and Sita fair?'
Thus pressed, the queen began to tell The story as each thing befell, And gave her son in words like these, The mournful news she meant to please '. ( The prince is gone in hermit dress To Dan dak's mighty wilderness, And Lakshman brave and Sita share The wanderings of the exile there.'
Then Bharat's soul with fear was stirred Lest Rama from the right had erred, And jealous for ancestral fame, He put this quetion to the dame: * Has Rama grasped with lawless hold A Brahman's house, or land, or gold? Has Rama harmed with ill intent Some poor or wealthy innocent? Was Rama, faithless to his vows, Enamoured of anothers spouse? Why was he sent to Dandak's wild, Like one who kills an unborn child?'
He questioned thus: and she began To tell her deeds and crafty plan, Deceitful-hearted, fond, and blind As is the way of womankind: ' No Brahman's wealth has Rama seized, No dame his wandering fancy pleased; His very eyes he ne'er allows To gaze upon a neighbour's spouse. But when I heard the monarch planned To give the realm to Rama's hand, I prayed that Rama hence might flee, And claimed the throne, my son. for thee. The king maintained the name he bare, And did according to my prayer. And Rama, with his brother, sent, And Sit&, forth to banishment. When his dear son was seen no more, The lord of earth was troubled sore: Too feeble with his grief to strive, He joined the elemental Five. Up then, most dutiful! maintain The royal state, arise, and reign. For thee, my darling son, for thee All this was planned and wrought by me. Come, cast thy grief and pain aside, With manly courage fortified. This town and realm are all thine own, And fear and grief are here unknown. Come, with Vasishtha's guiding aid, And priests in ritual skilled Let the king's funeral dues be paid, And every claim fulfilled. Perform his obsequies with all That suits his rank and worth, Then give the mandate to install Thyself as lord of earth.'
CANTO LXXIII.
KAIKEYI REPROACHED.