He conquered Bali and restored The kingdom to the rightful lord, Then by Sugriva's high decree The Vanar legions searched for thee, Sampati's counsel bade me leap A hundred leagues across the deep. And now my happy eyes have seen At last the long-sought iMaithil queen. Such was the form, the eye, the grace Of her whom Rama bade me trace.'
He ceased: her flowing locks she drew To shield her from a stranger's view; Then, trembling in her wild surprise. Raised to the tree her anxious eyes.
CANTO XXXII.
SITA'S DOUBT.
Her eyes the Maithil lady raised Aud on the monkey speaker gazed. She looked, and trembling at the sight Wept bitter tears in wild affright. She shank a while with fear distraught, Then, nerved again, the lady thought: ' Is this a dream mine eyes have seen, This creature, by our laws unclean? O, may the Gods keep Rama, still, And Lakshman, and my sire, from ill! It is no dream': 1 have not slept, But, trouble-worn, have watched and wef Afar from that dear lord of mine For whom in ceaseless woe I pine, No art may soothe my wild distress Or lull me to forgetf ulness. I see but him: my lips can frame No syllable but R&ma's name. Each sight I see, each sound I hear, Brings Rama to mine eye or ear. The wish was in my heart, anc^hence The sweet illusion mocked my sense. 'Twas but a phantom of the mind, And yet the voice was soft and kind. Be glory to the Eternal Sire,1 Be glory to the Lord of Fire, The mighty Teacher in the skies, * And Indra with his thousand eyes, And may they grant the truth to be E'en as the words that startled me.'
an [ordinary] man, alluded to in the second passage, may perhaps be understood not a language in which words different from Sanskrit were used, but the employ- ment of formal and elaborate diction/ Sanskrit Texts, Part II, p. 166.
1 Svayambhu, the Self -existent, Brahm 2 Vrihaspati or Vachaspati, the Lord Speech and preceptor of the Gods.
Canto XXXIV.
THE RAM AY AN.
CANTO XXXIII.
TUB COLLOQUY.
TUB COLLOQUY.
Down from the tree Hanuman came And humbly stood before the dame. Then joining reverent palm to palm Addressed her thus witn words of balm: ' Why should the tears of sorrow rise, Sweet lady, to those lovely eyes, As when the wind-swept river floods Two half expanded lotus buds? Who art thou, O most fair of face? Of Asur,1 or celestial race? Did Naga mother give th.ee birth? For sure thou art no child of earth. Do Rudras55 claim that heavenly form? Or the swift Gods3 who ride the storm? Or art thou Rohini* the blest, That star more lovely than the rest,-*- Ref t from the Moon thou lovest well And doomed a while on earth to dwell? Or canst thou, fairest wonder, be The starry queen Arundhati,5 Fled in thy wrath or jealous pride From her dear lord Vasishtha's side? Who is the husband, father, son Or brother, O thou loveliest one, Gone from this world in heaven to dwell, For whom those eyes with weeping swell? Yet, by the tears those sweet eyes shed, Yet, by the earth that bears thy tread,6 By calling on a monarch's name, No Goddess but a royal dame. Art thou the queen, fair lady, say, Whom Ravan stole and bore away? Yea, by that agony of woe, That form unrivalled here below, That votive garb, thou art, I ween, King Janak's child and Rama's queen.'
1 The Asurs were the fierce enemies of the Gods.
2 The Rudras are manifestations of $i va.
3 The Maruts or Storm Gods.
4 Rohini is an asterism personified as the daughter of Daksha and the favourite wife of the Moon. The chief star in the constellation is Aldebaran.
5 Arundhati was the wife of the great sage Vasishtha. and regarded as the pab- tern of conj u'gal excellence. She was raised to the heavens as one of the Pleiades.
6 The Gods do not shed tears; nor do they touch the ground when they walk or stand. Similarly Milton's angels mar- ched above the ground and " the passive air upbore their nimble tread."
Virgil's 'vera incessu patuit dea' may refer to the same belief.
Hope at the name of Rama woke, And thus the gentle lady spoke: ' I am that Sita wooed and won By Dasaratha's royal son, The noblest of Ikshvaku's line; And every earthly joy was mine. But Rama left his royal home In Dan lak's tangled wilds to roam, Where* with Sumitra's son and me, He lived a saintly devotee. The giant Ravan came with guile And bore me thence to Lanka's isle. Some respite yet the fiend allows, Two months of life, to Rama's spouse. Two moons of hopeless woe remain. And then the captive will be slain.'
CANTO XXXIV. HANUMAN'S SPEECH.
Thus spoke the dame in mournful mood, And Hanuman his speech renewed: 1 O lady, by thy lord s decree I come a messenger to thee. Thy lord is safe with steadfast friends, And greeting to his queen he sends, And Lakshman, ever faithful bows His reverent head to Rama's spouse.'
Through all her frame the rapture ran, As thus again the dame began: ' Now verily the truth I know Of the wise saw of long ago: ' Once only in a hundred years True joy to living man appears.'
He marked her rapture-beaming hue, And nearer to the lady drew. But at each onward step he took Suspicious fear her spirit shook. ' Alas, Alas,' she cried in fear, ' False is the tale I joyed to hear. ' Tis Ravan, 'tis the fiend, who tries To mock me with a new disguise. If thou, to wring my woman's heart, Hast changed thy shape by magic art, And wouldst a helpless dame beguile, The wicked deed is doubly vile. But no: that fiend thou canst not be: Such joy I had from seeing thee. But if my fancy does not err, And thou art Rama's messenger, The glories of my lord repeat: For to these ears'such words are sweet.'
The Vanar knew the lady's thought,1 And gave the answer fondly sought: 1 That a friend of Rama would praise him as he sh:>uld be praised, and that if the stranger were Riivan in disguise he would avoid the subject.
RA MAYAN.
• Bright as the sun that lights the sky, Dear as the Moon to every eye. He scatters blessings o'er the land Like bounties from VaisravanV hand. Like Vishnu strong and unsubdued, Unmatched in might and fortitude. Wise, truthful as the Lord of Speech, With gentle words he welcomes each. Of noblest mould and form is he, Like love's incarnate deity. He quells the fury of the foe, And strikes when justice prompts the blow. Safe in the shadow of iris arm The World is kept from scathe and harm. 2sTow soon shall Ravan rue his theft, And fall, of realm and life bereft. For Kama's wrathful hand shall wing His shafts against the giant king. The day, O Maithil Queen* is near When he and Lakshman will be here, And by their side Sugriva lead His countless hosts of Vanar breed. JSugriva's servant, I, by name Hanuman, by his order came. With desperate leap I crossed the sea To Lanka's isle in search of thee, No traitor, gentle dame, am I: Upon my word and faith rely.'
CANTO XXXV. HANUMAN'S SPEECH, With joyous heart she heard him tell Of the great lord she loved so well, And in sweet accents, soft and low, Spoke, half forgetfool of her woe: ' How didst thou stand by Rama's side? How came my lord and thou allied? How met the people of the wood With men on terms of brotherhood? Declare each grace and regal sign That decks the lords of liaghu's line. Each circumstance and look relate: Tell lama's form and speech, and gait.'
'Thy fear and doubt,' he cried. 'dispelled, Hear, lady, what mine eyes beheld. Hear the imperial signs that grace The glory of Ikshvaku's race. With moon -bright face and lotus eyes, Most beautiful and good and wise, With sun-like glory round his head, Long-suffering as the earth we tread, He from all foes his realm defends, Yea, o'er the world his care extends. He follows right in all his ways, And ne'er from royal duty strays.
1 Kuvera the God of Gold, He knows the lore that strength ens kings; His heart to truth and honour clings, Each grace and gift of form and rrind Adorns that prince of human kind; And virtues like his own endue His brother ever firm and true, O'er all the land they roamed distaught, And thee with vain endeavour sought, Until at length their wandering feet Trod wearily our wild retreat. Our banished king Sugriva spied The princes from the mountain side. By his command I sought the pair And led them to our monarch there. Thus Rama and Sugriva met, And joined the bonds that knit them yet, When each besought the other's aid, And friendship and alliance made. An arrow launched from Rama's bow Laid Bali dead, Sugriva's foe. Then by commandment of our lord The Vanar hosts each land explored. We reached the coast: I crossed the sea* And found my way at length to thee.'1 CANTO XXXVL KAMA'S RING.
« Receive,' he dried, ' this precious ring,* Sure token from thy lord the king: The golden ring he wont to wear:? See, Rama's name engraven there. Then, as she took the ring he showed, The tears that spring of rapture flowed. S'ie seejned to touch the hand that sent The dearly valued ornament* And with 'her heart again at ease, Replied in gentle words like these: ' O thou, whose soul no fears deter, Wise, brave, and faithful messenger! And hast thou dared, o'er wave and foam, To seek me in the giants' home? Tn thee, true messenger. I find The noblest of thy woodland kind, Who couldst. unmoved by terror, brook On Ravan, king of fiends, to look.
1 Sita of course knows nothing of \vhat has happened to Rama since the time when she was carried away by Ravan, The poet therefore thinks it necessarv to repeat the whole story of the meeting between Rama and Sugriva, the defeat of Bali, and subsequent events. I give the briefest possible outline of the story.
* DB GUBERNATIS thinks that this ring which the Sun Rama sends to the Dawn Sita is a symbol of the sun's disc.
Canto XXXV I L THE RAMAYAN.
Now may we commune here as friends, For he whom royal Rama sends Must needs be one in danger tried, A valiant, wise, and faithful guide. Say, is it well with R4ma still? Lives Lakshman yet untouched by ill? Then why should Rama's hand be slow To free his consort from her woe? Why spare to burn, in search of me, The land encircled by the sea? Can Bharat send no army out With banners, cars and battle shout? Cannot thy king Sugrlva lend His legions to assist his friend? ' His hands upon his head he laid And thus again his answer made: ' Not yet has Rama learnt where lies His lady of the lotus eyes, Or he like Indra from the sky To Satfhi'*1 aid, to thee would fly. Soon will he hear the tale, and then, Roused to revenge, the lord of men Will to the giants' island lead Fierce myriads of the woodland breed, Bridging his conquering way, and make The town a ruin for thy sake. Believe my words, sweet dame; I swear By roots and fruit, my woodland fare, By Meru's peak and Vindhya's chain, And Mandar of the Milky Main, Soon shalt thou see thy lord, though now He waits upon Prasra van's5* browf Come glorious as the breaking morn, Like Indra on Airayat* borne. For thee he looks with longing eyes; The wood his scanty food supplies. For thee his brow is pale and worn, For thee are meat and wine forsworn. Thine image in his heart he keeps, For thee by night he wakes and weeps* Or if perchance his eyes he close And win brief respite from his woes, E'en then the name of Sita slips In anguish from his murmuring lips, If lovely flowers or fruit he sees, Which women love, upon the trees, To thee, to thee his fancy flies. And ' Sita! 0 my love! ' he cries.'
1 Sachi is the loved and lovely wife of Indra, and she is taken as the type of a woman protected by a jealous and all- powerful husband.
2 The mountain near Kishkindha. 3Airavat is the mighty elephant on which Indra delights to ride.
CANTO XXXVII.
SFTA'S SPEECH, 1 Thou bringest me,' she cried again, * A mingled draught of bliss and pain; Bliss, that he wears me in his heart, Pain, that he wakes and weeps apart, O, see how Fate is king of all, Now lifts us high, now bids us fall, Arid leads a captive bound with cord The meanest slave, the proudest lord, Thus even now Fate's stern decree Has struck with grief my lord and me. Say, how shall Rama reach the shore Of sorravv's waves that rise and roar, A shipwrecked sailor, wellnigh droWnect In the wild sea that foams around? When will he smite the demon down* Lay low in dust the giants' town, And, glorious from his foes' defeat, His wife, his long-lost Sita, meet? Go, bid him speed to smite his foes Before the year shall reach its close. Ten months are fled: but two remain, Then Ravan's captive must be slain,, Oft has Vibhishan,1 just and wise, Besought him to restore his prize. But deaf is Ravan's senseless ear: His brother's rede* he will not hear. Vibhishan"s daughter* loves me well £ From her I learnt the tale I tell. Avindhya* prudent, just, and old, The giant's fall has oft foretold; But Fate impels him to despise His word on whom he most relies. In Eama's love I rest secure, For my fond heart is true and purer, And him, my noblest lord, I deem [n valour, power, and might supreme/ As from her eyes the waters ran, The Vanar chief again began: Tea, Rama, when he hears my tale, Will with our hosts these walls assail* )r I myself, O Queen, this day Will bear thee from the fiend away, Will lift thee up, and take thee hence? Po him thy refuge and defence; Vill take thee in my arms, and flee ^o Rarna far beyond the sea; Will place thee on Prasravar* hill Where llaghu's son is waiting still/ 1 Vibhishan is the wicked Ravan's good mother.
2 Her name is Kala, or in the Bengal ecension Nanda.
3 One of Ravan's chief councillors.
TEE RAMA Y AN.
Book V.
'How canst thou bear me hence?' she cried, 'The way is long, the sea is wide. To bear iny very weight would be A task too hard for one like thee.' l Swift rose before her startled eyes The Vanar in his native size, Like Mandar's hill or Merirs height, Encircled with a blaze of light. ' O come,' he cried, 'thy fears dispel, Nor doubt that I will bear thee well. Come, in my strength and care confide, And sit in joy by Rama's side.'
Again she spake: * I know thee now, Brave, resolute, and strong art thou; In glory like the Lord of Fire With storm -swift feet which naught may tire But yet with thee I may not fly: For, borne so swiftly through the sky, Mine eyes would soon grow faint and dim, My dizzy brain would reel and swim, My yielding arms relax their hold, And I in terror uncontrolled Should fall into the raging sea Where hungry sharks would feed on me. Nor can I touch, of free accord, The limbs of any save my lord. If, by the giant forced away, In his enfolding arms I lay, Not mine, 0 Vanar. was the blame; What could I do, a helpless dame? Go, to my lord my message bear, And bid him end my long despair.'
CANTO XXXVIII.
SITA'S GEM.
Again the Vanar chief replied, With her wise answer satisfied: 'Well hast thou said: thou canst not brave The rushing wind, the roaring wave. Thy woman's heart would sink with fear Before the ocean shore were near. And for thy dread lest limb of thine Should for a while be touched by mine, The modest fear is worthy one Whose cherished lord is llaghu's son. Yet when I sought to bear thee hence I spoke the words of innocence, Impelled to set the captive free By friendship for thy lord and thee. But if with me thou wilt not try The passage of the windy sky, 1 Hanuman when he entered the city had in order to escape observation con- densed himself to the size of a cat.
Give me a gem that T may show, Some token which thy lord may know.'
Again the Maithil lady spoke, While tears and sobs her utterance broke: t The surest of all signs is this, To tell the tale of vanished bliss. Thus in my name to Rama speak: ' Remember Chitrakuta's peak. And the green margin of the rill1 That flows beside that pleasant hill, Where thou and I together strayed Delighting in the tangled shade. There on the grass I sat with thee And laid my head upon thy knee. There came a greedy crow and pecked The meat I waitd to protect. And, heedless of the clods I threw, About my head in circles Hew, Until by darling hunger pressed He boldly pecked me on the breast. I ran to thee in rage and grief And praved for vengeance on the thief. Then Earn a2 from his slumber rose And smiled with pity at my woes. Upon my bleeding breast he saw The scratches made by beak and claw. He laid an arrow on his bow. And launched it at the shameless crow. That shaft, with magic power endued, The bird, where'er he flew, pursued, '1 ill back to Raghu's son he fled And bent at Rama's feet his head.3 Couldst thou for me with anger stirred Launch that dire shaft upon a bird, And yet canst pardon him who stole The darling of thy heart and soul? Rise up, O bravest of the brave. And come in all thy might to save. Come with the thunders of thy bow, And smite to earth the Rakshas foe.'
She ceased; and from her glorious hai] She, took a gem that sparkled there: A token which her husband's eyes With eager love would recognize. His head the Vanar envoy bent In low obeisance reverent. And on his finger bound the gem She loosened from her diadem.
i The brook Mandakini, not far fron Chitrakuta where Rama sojourned fo a time.
* The poet here changes from the seconc person to the third.
3 The whole long story is repeated wit! some slight variations and additions fron Book IL Canto XCVI. I give here onl: the outline.
Canto XLII.
THE RAM AY AN.
CANTO XL!.1 THE RUIN OF THE GROVE.
Dismissed with every honour due The Vanar from the spot withdrew. Then joyous thought the Wind-God's son: * The mighty task is wellnigh done. The three expedients I must leave; The fourth alone can I achieve. * These dwellers in the giants' isle No arts of mine can reconcile. I cannot bribe: I cannot sow Dissension mid the Rakshas foe. Arts, gifts, address, these iiends despise; But force shall yet their king chastise. Perchance he may relent when all The bravest of his chieftains fall. This lovely grove will I destroy, The cruel Ravan's pride and joy. The garden where he takes his ease Mid climbing plants and flowery trees That lift their proud tops to the skies, Dear to the tyrant as his eyes. Then will he rouse in wrath, and lead His legions with the car and steed And elephants in long array, And seek me thirsty for the fray. The Rakshas legions will I meet, And all his bravest host defeat; Then, glorious from the bloody plain, Turn to my lord the king again,' Then every lovely tree that bore Fair blossoms, from the soil he tore, Till each green bough that lent its shade To singing birds on earth was laid. The wilderness he left a waste, The fountains shattered and defaced: CVerthrew and levelled with the ground Each shady seat and pleasure-mound. Each arbour clad with climbing bloom, Each grotto, cell, and picture room, Each lawn by beast and bird enjoyed, Each walk and terrace was destroyed.
1 I omit two Cantos of dialogue. Sita tells Hanuman again to convey her mes- sage to Rama and bid him hasten to rescue her. Hanuman replies as before that there is no one on earth equal to Rama, who will soon come and destroy Ravan. There is not a new idea in the two Cantos: all is reiteration.
* The expedients to vanquish an enemy or to make him come to terms are said to be four: conciliation, gifts, disunion, and force or punishment. Hanuman considers it useless to employ the first three and resolves to punish Ravan by destroying his pleasure-grounds.
And all the place that was so fair Was left a ruin wild and bare, As if the fury of the blast Or raging fire had o'er it passed.
CANTO XLII.
THE GIANTS ROUSED.
The cries of startled birds, the sound Of tall trees crashing to the ground, Struck with amaze each giant's ear, And filled the isle with sudden fear. Then, wakened by the crash and cries, i he fierce shefiends unclosed their eyes, And saw the Vanar where he stood A.mid the devastated wood. The more to scare them with the view To size immense the Vanar grew; And straight the Rakshas warders cried Janak's daughter terrified: Whose envoy, whence, and who is he, Why hag he come to talk with thee? Speak, lady of the lovely eyes, And let not fear thy joy disguise.'
Then thus replied the Maithil dame Of noble soul and perfect frame: ' Can I discern, with scanty skill, These fiends who change their forms at will?
1 Tis yours to say: your kin you meet; A serpent knows a serpent's feet.
I weet not who he is: the sight Has filled my spirit with affright.' Some pressed round Sita in a ring; Some bore the story to their king: ( A mighty creature of our race, In monkey form, has reached the place. He came within the grove,' they cried, ' He stood and talked by Sita/s side, He comes from Indra's court to her, Or is Kuvera's messenger; Or Rama sent the spy to seek His consort, and her wrongs to wreak. His crushing arm, his trampling feet Have marred and spoiled that dear retreat, And all the pleasant place which thou So lovest is a ruin now. The tree where Sita sat alone Is spared where all are overthrown. Perchance he saved the darnefrom harm: Perchance the toil had numbed his arm.'
Then flashed the giant's eye with fire Like that which lights the funeral pyre. He bade his bravest Kiukars * speed 1 Kinkar means the special servant of a sovereign, who receives his orders im- THE V.
And to his feet the spoiler lead. Forth from the palace, at his hest, Twice forty thousand warriors pressed, Burning for battle, strong and tierce, With clubs to crush and swords to pierce, (They saw Hanuman near a porch, And, thick as moths around a torch, Rushed on the foe with wild attacks Of mace and club and battle-axe; As round him pressed the &akshas crowd, The wondrous monkey roared aloud, That birds fell headlong from the sky: Then spake he with a mighty cry: * Long life to Dasaratha's heir, And Lakshman, ever-glorious pair 1 Long life to him who rules our race, Preserved by noblest Rama's grace! I am the slave of Kosal's king,1 Whose wondrous deeds the minstrels sing. Hanuman I, the Wind-God's seed: Beneath this arm the f oemen bleed. I fear not, unapproached in might, A thousand Ratans ranged for fight^ Although in furious hands they rear The hill and tree for sword and spear, I will, before the giants' eyes, Their city and their king chastise; And, haying communed with the dame, I) e part in triumph as I came.' At that terrific roar and yell ^The heart of every giant fell. But still their king's command they feared, And pressed around with arms upreared. Beside the porch a club was laid: The Vanaf caught it up, and swayed The weapon roUnd his head, and slew The foremost of the Rakshas crew. Thus Indra vanquished, thousand-eyed* The Daityas who the Gods defied. Then on the porch Hanuman sprang, And loud his shout of triumph rang. The giants looked upon the dead, And turning to their monarch fled. And Ravan with his spirit wrought To frenzy 'by the tale they brought, Urged to the fight Prahasta's son, Of all his chiefs the mightiest one.
mediately from his master. The Bengal recension gives these Rakskasesan epithet which the Commentator explains ' as generated in the mind of Brahma.'
1 Rama dejure King of Kosalof which Ayodhya, was the capital, CANTO XLIII.
THE RUIN OF THE TEMPLE.
The Wind-God's son a temple1 scaled Which, by his fury unassailed, High as the hill of Meru, stood Amid the ruins of the wood; And in his fury thundered out Again his haughty battle-shout: ' I am the slave of Kosal's king Whose wondrous deeds the minstrels sing/ Forth hurried, by that shout alarmed, The warders of the temple armed With every weapon haste supplied, And closed him in on every side, With bands that strove to pierce and strike With shaft'and axe and club and pike. Then from its base the Vanar tore A pillar with the weight it bore. Against the wall the mass he dashed, And forth the flames in answer flashed/ That wildly ran o'er roofs and Wall In hungry rage consuming all. He whirled the pillar round his head And struck a hundred giants dead. Then high upheld on air he rose And called in thunder to his foes: 4 A thousand Vanar chiefs like me Roam at their will o'er land and sea, Terrific might we all possess: Our stormy speed is limitless. And all, unconquered in the fray, Our king Sugriva's word obey. Backed by his bravest myriads, he Our warrior lord will cross the sea. Then Lanka's lofty towers, and all Your hosts and Ravan's self shall fall. None shall be left unslaugntered; none Who braves the wrath of Raghu'sson.'
CANTO XLIV.
JAMBUMALIS DEATH.
Then Jambumali, pride and boast For valour of the Rakshas host, Prahasta's son supremely brave, Obeyed the hest that Ravan gave: Fierce warrior with terrific teeth, With saguine robes and brilliant wreath. A bow like Indra's own,2 and store 1 Cliaityaprdsdda is explained by the Commentator as the place where the Gods of the R&kshases were kept. Gorresio translates it by ' un grande edificio.'
2 The bow of Indra is the rainbow.
Canto XI VI.
THE RAM AY AN.