streams, Lies scorched beneath the midday beams Ravan his steps to hell may bend* Or lower yet in flight descend; But be thou sure, O Raghu's son, Avenging death he shall not shun. Riise, Rama, rise: the search begin, And track the giant foul witii sin. Then shall the fiend, though far he fly, Resign his prey or surely die. Yea, though the trembling monster hide With Sita close to Diti's1 side, E'en there, unless he yield the prize, Slain by this wrathful hand he dies. Thy heart with strength and courage stai And cast this weakling mood away. Our fainting hopes in vain revive" Unless with firm resolve we strive. The zeal that fires the toiler's breast Mid earthly powers is first and best. Zeal every check and bar defies, And wins at length the loftiest prize, In woe and danger, toil and care, Zeal never yields to weak despair. With zealous heart thy task begin, And thou once more thy spouse shalt wir Cast fruitless sorrow from thy soul, Nor let this love thy heart control. Forget not all thy sacred lore, But be thy noble self once more.'
He heard, his bosom rent by grief, The counsel of his brother chief; Crushed in his heart the maddening pain And rose resolved and strong again. Then forth upon his journey went The hero on his task intent, Nor thought of Fampa's lovely brook, 1 A daughter of Daksh a who became OIK of the wives of Kasyapa and mother o the Daityas. She is termed the genera mother of Titans and malignant beings See Book I Cautos XLV, XLVI, THK KAMA TAN.
vi.
Or trees which murmuring breezes shook, Though on dark woods his glances fell, On waterfall and cave and dell; And still by many a care distressed The.son of Raghu onward pressed. A* some wild elephant elate Moves through the woods in pride, So Lakshman with majestic gait Strode by his brother's side. He, for his lofty spirit famed, Admonisbed and consoled; Showed Itaghu's son what duty claimed, And bade, his heart be bold. Then as the brothers strode apace To liishyamuka's height, The.sovereign of the 'Viinar race1 Was troubled at the sight. As on the lofty hill he strayed He saw the chiefs draw near: A while their glorious forms surveyed, And mused in restless fear. His slow majestic step he stayed And gazed upon the pair. And all his spirit sank dismayed I'.y tear too great to bear. When in their glorious might the best Of royal chiefs came nigh, The Vanari in their wild unrest Prepared to turn and fly. They sought tin- hermit's' sacred home* Kor peace and bliss ordained, And there, where Vanars loved to roam, A sure asylum gained.
CANTO II.
SUGRIVA'S ALARM.
Sugriva moved by wondering awe The high-sonled sons of liaghu saw, In all their glorious arms arrayed; And grief upon his spirit weighed. To every quarter of the sky He turned in fear his anxious eye, And roving still from spot to spot With troubled steps he rested not. He durst, not, as he viewed the pair, Kesolve to stand and meet them there; 1 Sugriva, the ex-king of the Vunars, foresters, or monkeys, an exile from his home, wandering about the mountain Kishyamuka with his four faithful ex- ministers.
- The hermitage of the Saint Mntanca which his curse; prevented Bali, tne present king of the Vanars, from entering. The story is told at length in Cauto XI, of this liook.
And drooping cheer and quailing breast The tvrror of the chief confessed. While the great fear his bosom shook, P.rief counsel with his lords he took; Kach gain and danger closely scanned, What hope in flight, what power to stand. While doubt and fear his bosom rent, On Kughu'.s sons his eyes he bent, And with a spirit ill at ease Addressed his lords in words like these: * Those chiefs with wandering steps invade The shelter of our pathless shade, And hither come in fair disguise Of hermit garb as lUili's spies.'
Kach lorn beheld with troubled heart Those masters of the bowman's art, And left the mountain side to seek Sure refuge on a loftier peak. The Yan:ir chief in rapid flight Found shelter on a towering height, And all the hand with one accord Were closely gathered round their lord. Their course the same, with desperate leap Kach made his way from steep to steep, And speeding on in wild career Killed every height with sudden fear. Kach heart was struck with mortal dread, As on their course the Vanars sped, While trees that crowned the steep were bent bent And crushed beneath them as they went. As in their eager flight they pressed For safety to each mountain crest, The A-ild confusion struck with fear Tiger and cat and wandering deer. The lords who watched Sugriva's will \Vere gathered on the royal hill, And all with reverent hands upraised Upon their king and leader gazed. Sugriva feared some evil planned, Some t-ram'prepared by Kali's hand. But, skilled in words that charm and teach, Thus llanumdn1 began his speech: * Pismiss, dismiss thine idle fear, Nor dread the power of Bali here. For this is Malaya's glorious hill8 Where Bali's might can work no ill. I look around but nowhere see The hated foe who made thee flee, Fell Bali, tierce in form and face: Then fear not, lord of Vanar race. Alas, in thee 1 clearly find The weakness of the Vanar kind, 1 Hanuman, Sugriva's chief general, was the son of the God of Wind. See liook I. Canto XVI.
* A range of hills in Malabar; the Western Ghats iu the Deccan.
Canto III.
TllK RAM AY AN.
That loves from thought to thought to range, Fix no belief, and welcome change. Mark well e;ioh hint, ami -sign, and scan, Discreet and wise, thine every plan. How may a king, with sense denied, The subjects of his sceptre guide'' Hanuman,1 wise in hour of need, Urged on the chief his prudent rede. His listening car Sugriva bent, And spake in words more excellent: • Where is the dauntless heart that free From terror's chilling touch can see Two stranger warriors, strong as those, Equipped with swords and shafts and hows, "With mighty arms and large full eyes, Like glorious children of the skies? }»ali my foe, I ween, has sent These chiefs to aid his dark intent, Hence doubt and fear disturb me still, For thousands serve a monarch's will. In borrowed garb they come, and those Who walkjdisguised are counted foes. With secret thoughts they watch theirtime, And wound fond hearts that fear no crime. My foe in state affairs. is wise, And prudent kings have searching eyes, liv other bauds they strike the foe: By meaner tools the truth they know. Now to those stranger warriors turn, And, less than king, their purpose learn. M:i.rk well the trick and look of each; Observe his form and note his speech. With care their mood and temper sound, And, if their minds be friendly found, With courteous looks and words begin Their confidence and love to win. Then as my friend and envoy speak, And question what the strangers seek. Ask why equipped with shaft and bow Through this wild maze of wood they go. If they, O chief, at first appesir Pure of all guile, in heart sincere, Detect in speech and look the sin And treachery that lurk within.'
lie spoke: the Wind-God's son obeyed. With ready /eal be sought the shade, And reached with hasty steps the wood AVhere liujjhuVson and Lakshman stood. * 1 Valmiki makes the second vowel in this name long or short to suit the exi- gencies of the verse. Other Indian poets have followed his example, and the same licence will be used in this translation.
* 1 omit a recapitulatory and interpolate ed verse in a different metre, which is as follows: — Reverencing with the words, So be it, the speech of the greatly terrified and unequalled monkey king, the magnani- mous llanuman then went where (.stood) the very mighty Kama with Luksliimin.
CANTO III.
HANUMAN'S SPEECH, The envoy in his faithful breast Pondered Sugriva's high behest. From Kishvarnuka's peak lie hied And placed him by the princes' side. The Wind-Cod's son with cautious art Had laid his Vanar form apart, And wore, to cheat the strangers' eyes, A wandering mendicant's disguise.1 Before the heroes' feet he bent And did obeisance reverent, And spoke, the glorious pair to praise, His words of truth in courteous phrase, High honour duly paid, the best Of all the Vanar kind addressed, With free accord and gentle grace, Those glories of their warrior race: *O hermits, blest in vows, who shine Like royal saints or Gods divine, 0 best of young ascetics, say How to this spot you found your way, Scaring the troops of wandering deer And silvan things that harbour here Searching amid the trees that grow Where Tampa's gentle waters How, And lending from your brows a gleam Of glory to the lovely stream. Who are you. say. so brave and fair, Clad in the bark which hermits wear?
1 see yon heave the frequent sigh, I see the deer before you fly, While you, for strength and valour dread, The earth, like lordly lions, tread, Each bearing in his hand a bow, Like Iiulra's own, to slay the foe, With the grand paces of a bull, So bright and young and beautiful. The mighty arms you raise appear Like trunks which elephants uproar, And as you move this mountain-king* Is glorious with the light you bring. How have you reached, like Cods in face, Best lords of earth, this lonely place, 1 The semi-divine Hanuman possesses like the Gods and demons, the power oi wearing all shapes at will. He is one oi the Kdmantpu.
Like Milton's good and bad angels ";IH they pleas* They limb themselves, and colour, shape, or si/e Assume as likes them best, condens< or rare."
2 Himalaya is of course par exci'llrnci the Monarch of mountains, but the com piimentary title is frequently given t< other hilla us here to Malaya.
THE RAM AY AN.
Boolf III.
With tresses coiled in hermit guise,1 And splendours of those lotus eyes? As God's who leave their heavenly sphere, Alike your beauteous forms appear. The Lords of Day and Night2 might thus Stray from the skies to visit us. Heroic youth, so broad of chest, Fair with the beauty of the Blest, With lion shoulders, tall and strong, Like bulls who lead the lowing throng, Your arms, unmatched for grace and length, With massive clubs may vie in strength. Why do no gauds those limbs adorn Where priceless gems were meetly worn? Each noble youth is tit, I deem, To guard this earth, as lord supreme, With all her woods and seas, to reign From Meru's peak to Vindhya's chain. Your smooth bows decked with dyes and gold gold Are glorious in their masters' hold, And with the arms of Indra3 vie Which diamond splendours beautify. Your quivers glow with golden sheen, Well stored with arrows fleet and keen, Each gleaming like a fiery snake That joys the f oeman's life to take. As serpents cast their sloughs away And all their new-born sheen display, {So flash your mighty swords inlaid With burning gold on hilt and blade. Why are you silent, heroes? Why My questions hear nor deign reply? Sugriva, lord of virtuous mind. The foremost of the Vanar kind, An exile from his royal state, Roams through the land disconsolate. I, Hanuman, of Vanar race. Sent by the king have sought this place, For he, the pious, just, and true. In friendly league would join with you. Know, godlike youths, that I am one Of his chief lords, the Wind-God's son. With course unchecked I roam at will, And now from Rishyamuka's hill. To please his heart, his hope to speed, I came disguised in beggar's weed.'
Thus Hanuman, well trained in lore Of language, spoke, and said no more. The son of Raghu joyed to hear The envoy's speech, and bright of cheer He turned to Lakshman by his side, And thus in words of transport eriod: 4 The counsellor we now behold Of King Sugriva righteous-souled.
1 Twisted up in a matted coil as was the custom of ascetics.
2 The sun and moon.
3 The rainbow, His face I long have yearned to see, And now his envoy comes to me. With sweetest words in courteous phrase Answer this mighty lord who slays His foemen, by Sugriva sent, This Vanar chief most eloquent. For one whose words so sweetly flow The whole Kig-veda1 needs must know, And in his well -trained memory store The Yajush and the Samau's lore. He must have bent his faithful ear All grammar's varied rules to hear. For his long speech how well he spoke! In all its length no rule he broke. In eye, on brow, in all his face The keenest look no guile could trace, No change of hue, no pose of limb Gave sign that aught was false in him. Concise, unfaltering,.sweet and clear, Without a word to pain the ear. From chest to throat, nor high nor low, His accents came in measured flow. How well he -spoke with perfect art That wondrous speech that charmed the heart, heart, With finest skill and order graced In words that knew nor pause nor haste! That speech, with consonants that spring From the three seats of uttering,2 Would charm the spirit of a foe Whose sword is raised for mortal blow, How may a ruler's plan succeed Who lacks such envoy good at need? How fail, if one whose mind is stored With gifts so rare assist his lord? What plans can fail, with wisest speech Of envoy's lips to further each?'
Th us Kama spoke; and Lakshman, taught In all the art that utters thought, To King JSugriva's learned spy Thus made his eloquent reply: 4 Full well we know the gifts that grace Sugriva, lord of Vanar race, And hither turn our wandering feet That we that high-souled king may meet. So now our pleasant task shall be To do the words he speaks by thee.'
His prudent speech the Vanar heard, And all his heart with joy was stirred. And hope that league with them would bring Redress and triumph to his king.
1 The Vedas are four in number, the Rich or Rig-veda, the Yajush or Yajur veda; the Saman or Sama-veda, and the Atharvan or Atharva-veda. See p, 3. Note.
* The chest, the throat, and the head, Canto IV.
THE RAM AY AN.
OA3STTO IV.
LAKSHMAN'S REPLY.
Cheered by the words that Rama spoke, Joy in the Vanar's breast awoke, And. as his friendly mood he knew, His thoughts to King Sugriva flew: ' Again,' he mused, 'my Mgh-souled lord Shall rule, to kingly state restored; Since one «o mighty comes to save, And freely gives the help we crave.'
Then joyous Hanuman, the best Of all the Vanar kind, addressed These words to Rama, trained of yore Jn all the arts of speakers' lore: l * Why do your feet this forest tread By silvan Ufe inhabited, This awful maze of tree and thorn Which Parapa's flowering groves adorn?'
He spoke: obedient to the eye Of Rama Lakshman made reply, The name and fortune to unfold Of Raghu's son the lofty-souled: * True to the law, of fame unstained, The glorious Dasaratha reigned. And, steadfast in his duty, long Kept the f our castes2f rom scathe and wrong. Through his wide realm his will was done, And, loved by all, he hated none. .Just to each creature great and small, Like the Good Sire he cared for all. The Agnishtom,3 as priests advised, "In our own metrical romances, or whereyer a poem is meant not for readers but for chanters and oral reciters, these formulae, to meet the same recurring case, exist by scores. Thus every woman in these metrical romances who happens to beyoumr, is described as "so bright of ble," .or complexion; always a man goes "the mountenance of a mile" before he over- takes or is overtaken. And so on through a vast bead-roll of cases. In the same spirit Homer has his eternal rav Sa* or TOV To a reader of sensibility, such recur- rences wear an air of child-like simplicity, beautifully recalling the features of Homer's primitive age. But they would h ave appeared faults to all commonplace critics in literary ages."
DE QuiNCE¥, Homer and the Homeridce. Brahmans the sacerdotal caste. Ksha- triyas the royal and military, Vaisyas the mercantile, and Sudras the servile.
3 A protracted sacrifice extending: over everal days. See Book I. p. 2i Note, 22 And various rites he solemnized, Where ample largess ever paid The Brahmans for their holy aid.
Here Rama stands, his heir by birth, Whose name is glorious in the earth: Sure refuge he of all oppressed, Most faithful to his sire's behest.
He, Dasaratha's eldest born Whom gifts above the rest adorn, Lord of each high imperial sign,1 The glory of his kingly line, Reft of his right, expelled from home, Came forth with me the woods to roam.
And Sit& too, his faithful dame, Forth with her virtuous husband came, Like the sweet light when day is done Still cleaving to her lord the sun.
And me his sweet perfections drew To follow as his servant true, Named Lakshman, brother of my lord Of grateful heart 'with knowledge stored.
Most meet is he all bliss to share, Who makes the good of all his care.
While, power and lordship cast away, In the wild wood he chose to stay, A giant came,— his name unknown,— And stole the princess left alone.
Then Diti's sou2 who, cursed of yore.
The semblance of a Rakshas wore, To King Sugriva bade us turn The robber's name and home to learn, For he, the Vanar chief, would know The dwelling of our secret foe.
Such words of hope spake Diti's son, And sought the heaven his deeds had won.
Thou hast my tale. From first to last Thine ears have heard whate'er has past.
Rama the mighty lord and I For refuge to Sugriva fly.
The prince whose arm bright glory gained, O'er ifche whole earth as monarch reigned.
And richest gifts to others gave, Is come Sugriva's help to crave; Son ol a king the surest friend 3f virtue, him who loved to lend His succour to the suffering weak, [s come Sugriva's aid to seek.
Yes, Raghu's son whose matchless hand Protected all this sea-girt land, The virtuous prince, my holy guide, For refuge seeks Sugriva's side.
His favour sent on great and small Should ever save and prosper all.
He now to win Sugriva's grace Has sought his woodland dwelling-place.
1 Possessed of all the auspicious personal marks that indicate capacity of universal sovereignty. See Book I. p. 2, and Note 3.
* Kabandha. See Book III. Canto TtlE RAMA YAN.
Book I Son of a king of glorious fame;•— Wlio knows not Dasaratha's name? — From whom all princes of the earth Keceived each honour due to worth; — Heir of that best of earthly kings, Kama the prince whose glory rings Through realms below and earth and skies, For refuge to fcugriva flies. Nor should the Vanar king refuse The boon for which the suppliant sues, But with his forest legions speed To save him in his utmost need.'
Sumitra's son, his eyes bedewed With piteous tears, thus sighed and sued. Then, trained in all the arts that guide The speaker, Hanuman replied: 'Yea, lords like you of wisest thought, Whom happy fate has hither brought, Who vanquish ire and rule each sense. Must of our lord have audience. Reft of his kingdom, sad, forlorn, Once Bali's hate now Bali's scorn, Defeated, severed from his spouse, Wandering under forest boughs, Child of the.sun, our lord and king ISugriva will his succours bring, And all our Vanar hosts combined Will trace the dame you long to find.'
With gentle tone and winning grace Thus spake the chief of Vanar race, And then, to Raghu's son he cried: * Come, haste we to Sugriva's side.'
He spoke, and for his words so sweet Good Lakshman paid all honour meet; Then turned and cried to Raghu's sou: ' Now deem thy task already done, Because this chief of Vanar kind, Son of the God who rules the wind, Declares Sugriva's self would be Assisted in his need by thee. Bright gleams of joy his cheek o'erspread As each glad word of hope he said; And ne'er will one so valiant deign To cheer our hearts with hope in vain,' He spoke, and Hanuman the wise Cast off his mendicant disguise, And took again his Vanar form, Son of the God of wind and storm. High on his ample back in haste Kaghu's heroic sons he placed; And turned with rapid steps to find The sovereign of the Vanar kind.
CANTO V.
THE LEAGUE.
From Rishyamuka's rugged side To Malaya's hill the Vanar hied, And to his royal chieftain there Announced the coming of the pair: 4 See, here with Lakshman Raina stands Illustrious in a hundred lands. Whose valiant heart will never quail Al though a thousand foes assail; King Dasaratha's son, the grace And glory of Ikshvaku's race. Obedient to his father's will He cleaves to sacred duty still. With rites of royal pomp and pride His sire the Fire-God gratified; Ten hundred thousand kine he freed, And priests enriched with ample mee And the broad land protected, famed For truthful lips ana passions tamed. Through woman's guile his son has His dwelling in the forest shade. Where, as he lived with every sense Subdued in hermit abstinence, Fierce Ravan stole his wife, and he Is come a suppliant, lord, to thee. Now let all honour due be paid To these great chiefs who seek thine ai Thus spake the Vanar prince, an stirred With friendly thoughts. Sugriva heard The light of joy his face o'erspread, And thus to Baghu's son he said: ' O Prince, in rules of duty trained, Caring for all with love unfeigned, Hanuman's tongue has truly shown The virtues that are thine alone. My chiefest glorv, gain, and bliss, O stranger Prince, I reckon this, That Raghu's son will condescend To seek the Vanar for his friend. If thou my true ally wouldst be Accept the pledge I offer thee. This hand in sign of friendship take, And bind the bond we ne'er will bre: He spoke, and joy thrilled Ram!
breast; Sugriva's hand lie seized and pressed? And, transport beaming from his eye, Held to his heart his new ally. In wanderer's weed disguised no more, His proper form Hanuman wore. Then, wood with wood engendering,1 cai Neath his deft hands the kindled flame Between the chiefs that tire he placed 1 Fire for sacred purposes is produ( by the attrition of two pieces of wo- In marriage and other solemn covena fire is regarded as the holy witness whose presence the agreement is nia Spenser in a description of a marria has borrowed from the Roman rite w he calls the housling; or sacramental fi Octnto Vf.
THE RAM AY AN.
With wreaths of flowers and worship graced, And round its blazing glory went The friends with slow steps reverent.
Thus each to other pledged and bound In solemn league new transport found, And bent upon his dear ally The gaze he ne'er could satisfy. 1 Friend of my soul art thou: we share Each other's joy, each other's care;' Tnus in the bliss that thrilled his breast Sugriva Raghu's son addressed. From a high Sal a branch he tore Which many a leaf and blossom bore, And the fine twigs beneath them laid A seat for him and Rama made. Then Hanuman with joyous mind, Son of the God who rules the wind, To Lakshman gave, his seat to be, The gay branch of a Sandal tree. Then King Sugriva with his eyes 8till trembling with the sweet surprise Of the great joy he could not hide, To Raghu's noblest scion cried: * O Rama, racked with woe and fear, Spurned by my foes, I wander here. Reft of my spouse, forlorn I dwell Here in my forest citadel. Or wild with terror and distress Koain through the distant wilderness. Vext by my brother Bali long My soul has borne the scathe and wrong. Do thou, whose virtues all revere, Release me from my woe and fear, From dire distress thy friend to free Is a high task and worthy thee.'
He spoke, and Raghu's son who knew All sacred duties men should do. The friend of justice, void of guile, Thus answered with a gentle smile: ' Great Vanar, friends who seek my aid Still find their trust with fruit repaid. Bali, thy foe, who stole away Thy wife, this vengeful hand shall slay. These shafts which sunlike flash and burn, Winged with the feathers of the hern, Each swift of flight and sure and dread, With even knot and pointed head, Fierce as the crashing fire-bolt sent By him who rules the firmament,1 Shall reach thy wicked foe and like " His owne two hands the holy knots did knit That none but death for ever can divide. His owne two hands, for such a turn rno^t tit, The housling fire did kindle and provide.' Faery Queen, Book I. XII. 37. 1 Indra.
Infuriate serpents hiss and strike. Thou, Vdnar King, this day shalt see The foe who long has injured thee Lie, like a shattered mountain, low, Slain by the tempest of my bow.'
Thus Rama spake: Sugriva heard, And mighty joy his bosom stirred: As thus his champion he addressed: ' Now by. thy favour, first and best Of heroes, shall thy friend obtain. His realm and darling wife again Recovered from the foe. Check thou mine elder brother's might, That ne'er again his deadly spite May rob me of mine ancient right, Or vex my soul with woe.' The league was struck, a league to bring To Sita fiends, and Vanar king1 Apportioned bliss and bale. Through her left eye quick throbbinga shot,2 Glad signs the lady doubted not.
That told their hopeful tale. The bright left eye of Bali felt An inauspicious throb that dealt A deadlv blow that day. The fiery left eyes of the crew' Of demons felt the throb, and knew The herald of dismay.
CANTO VI.
THE TOKENS.
With joy that sprang from hope restored To Rama spake the Vanar lord: 4 I know, by wise Hanuman taught, Why thou the lonely wood hast sought. Where with thy brother Lakshman thou Hast sojourned, bound by hermit vow; Have heard how Sita, Janak's child, Was stolen in the pathless wild, How by a roving Rakshas she Weeping was reft from him and thee; How, bent on death, the gaint slew The vulture king, her guardian true, And gave thy widowed breast to know A solitary mourner's woe. But soon, dear Prince, thy heart shall be From every trace of sorrow free; 1 Bali the king de facto.
* With the Indians, as with the ancient; Greeks, the throbbing of the right eye in a man is an auspicious sign, the throbbing of the left eye is the opposite. In a womari. the significations of signs are reversed.
On the alliance between Rama and the monkeys, see ADDITIONAL NOTES, THE RAM AY AN.
Boole IV.
For I thy darling will restore, Lost like the prize of holy lore.1 Yea, though in heaven the lady dwell, Or prisoned in the depths of hell, My friendly care her way shall track And bring thy ransomed darling back. Jjet this my promise soothe tfyy care, JNor doubt the words I truly swear. Saints, fiends, and dwellers of the skies Shall find thy wife a bitter prize, Like the rash child who rues too late Thy treacherous lure of poisoned eate. No longer, Prince, thy loss deplore; Thy darling wife will I restore. 'Twas she I saw: my heart infers That shrinking form was doubtless hers, Which gaint Ravan, fierce and dread, Bore swiftly through the clouds o'erhead Still writhing in his strict embrace Like helpless aueen oft serpent race,? An*} from her tips that sad voice came Styriejdngthineown and Lakshman/s name. High on a hill she saw me stand ' With comrades twain on either hand. Her outer robe to earth she threw, And with it sent her anklets too. We saw the glittering tokens fall, We found them there and kept them all. These will I bring: perchance thine eyes The treasured spoils will recognze.'
He ceasec}; then I^agr^u's son replied To the glad tale, and eager cried: 'Bring them with all thy speed: delay ^No more, dear friend, but haste away.'
Thus Rama spoke. Sugriva hied Within the mountain's caverne4 sfde, Impelled by Ipve that stirred each thought The precious tokens quickly brought, 1 TheVedae stolen by the demons Madhu and Kaitabha.
• The text has 3fT^f ite^fajT which sig- nifies literally " the lost vedic tradition." Jt seems that allusion is here made to the Vedas submerged in the depth of the sea, but promptly recovered by Vishnu in one of his incarnation, as the brah manic legend relates, with which the ordhodoxy of the Brahmans intended perhaps to allude to the prompt restoration and uninterrupte.d continuity of ttye ancient vedic tradition." GORRESIO.
2 Like tl^e wife of a Naga or Serpent- God curried off by an eagle. The enmity between the King of bir4saud the serpent js of very f reguent occurrence. It seems to be a modification of the strife between the Vedic Indra and the Ahi, the serpent or drought-fiend; between Apollon, and the Python, Adam and the Serpent, And said to Rn gnu's son. Behold This garment and these rings of gold. In Rama's hand with friendly haste The jewels and the robe he placed. Then, like the moon by mist assailed, The tear-dimmed eyes of Rama failed; That burst of woe unmanned liis frame, Woe sprung from passion for his dame, And with his manly strength o'erthrown, He fell and cried, Ah me! mine own! Again, again close to his breast The ornaments an$ robe he pressed, While the quick pants that shook his frame As from a furious serpent came. On his dear brother standing nigh JHe turned at length his piteous eye; And, while his tears increasing ran, In bitter wail he thus be^an: 'Look, brothei-, and behold once more The ornaments and robp she wore, Dropped while tjie giant bore away In cruel arms his struggling prey, Dropped in some quiet spot, I ween, Where the young grass was soft and green For still untouched by spot or stain Their former beauty all retain.'
He spoke with m^ny a tear and sigh, And thus his brother made reply: 'The bracelets thou hast fondly shown, And earrings, are to me unknown, But by long service taught I greet The anklets of her honoured feet.'
Then to Sugriva Rama, best Of Raghu's sons, these worcjs addressed ' Say to what quarter of the sky The cruel fiend was seen t-6 fly, Bearing afar my captured wife, My darling dearer than my life. Speak, Vanar King, ttyat I may know Where dwells the cause of all my woe; Th3 fiend for whose transgression all The giants by this hand shall fall. He who the fylaithil lady stole And kindled fury in my soul, JIas sought his fate in senseless pride And opened Death's dark portal wid Then tell me, Vanar lord, I pray, The dwelling of my foe, And he, beneath this hand, to-day To Yama's halls shall go.'
1 He means that he has never ven to raise his eyes to her arms and though he has ever been her 4evot< servant* Canto VI J I.
THE RAM AY AN.
CANTO VII.
KAMA CONSOLED.
With Ibriging love arid woe oppressed •the Variar c'hief he thus addressed: And he, while sobs his tltterartce broke, Raised up his reverent hands arid spoke: 4 O Raghu's son, I cannot tell Where riow that cruel fiend may dwell, Declare his power arid might, or trace The author of his cursed race. Still trust the promise that I make And let thy breast no longer ache. So will I toil, nor toil in vain, That thou thy consort may st regain. So will I work with might and skill That joy anew thy heart shall fill: The valour of iriy soul display, And Kavari and his le'giofls slay. Awake, aw'ake! unmanned no more Recall the strength was thine of yore. Beseems not men like thee to wear A weak heart yielding to despair. Like troubles, too, mine eyes nave seen, Lamenting for a long- lost queen; But, by despair unconquered yet, My strength of mind I ne'er forget. Far more shouldst thou of lofty soul Thy passion arid thy tears control, When I, of Vanar's humbler strain, Weep not for her in ceaseless pain. Be firm, be patient, nor forget The bounds the brave of heart have set In loss, in woe, in strife, in fear, When the dark hour of death is near. Up? with thine own brave heart advise: Not thus despond the firm and wise. But he who gives his childish heart To choose the coward's wefakling part, Sinks, like a foundered vessel, deep In waves of woe that o'er him sweep. See, suppliant hand to hand I lay,