Of glittering shafts the chieftain bore. And ever as the string he tried The weapon with a roar replied, I^oud as the crashing thunder sent By him who rules the firmament. Soon as the foernan came in view Borne on a car which asses drew. The Vanar chieftain mighty-voiced Shouted in triumph and rejoiced. Prahasta's son his bow-string drew, And swift the winged arrows flew. One in the face the Vanar smote, Another quivered in his throat. Ten from the deadly weapon sent His brawny arms and shoulders rent. Then as he felt each galling shot The Vanar's rage waxed fiercely hot. He looked, and saw a mass of stone That lay before his feet o'erthrown. The mighty block he raised and threw, And crashing through the air it flew. But Jambumali shunned the blow, And rained fresh arrows from his bow. The Vanar's limbs were red with gore: A Sal tree from the earth he tore, And, ere he hurled it undismayed, Above his head the missile swayed. But shafts f rcm Jaiubumali's bow Cut through it ere his hand could throw, And thigh and arm and chest and side With streams of rushing blood were dyed. Still unsubdued though wounded oft The shattered trunk lie raised aloft, And down with well-directed aim On Jambumali's chest it came. There crushed upon the trampled grass He lay an undistinguished mass; The foeman's eye no more could see His head or chest or arm or knee; And bow and car and steeds1 and store Of glittering shafts were seen no more.
When Jambumali's death he heard, King Ravan's heart with rage was stirrecj, And forth his general's sons he sent, For power and might preeminent, CANTO XLV.
THE SEVEN DEFEATED.
Forth went the seven in brave attire, In glory brilliant as the tire, Impetuous chiefs with massive bows, Tjie quellers of a host of foes: 1 We were told a few lines before that the chariot of Jambumali was drawn by asses. Here horses are spoken of. The Commentator notices the discrepancy and says that by horses asses are meant, Trained from their youth in martial lore, And masters of the arms they bore: Each emulous and fiercely bold.
And banners wrought with glittering gold Waved o'er their chariots, drawn at speed By coursers of the noblest breed.
On through the ruins of the grove At Hanuman they fiercely drove, And from the ponderous bows they strained A shower of deadly arrows rained.
Then scarce was seen the Vanar's form Enveloped in the arrowy storm.
So stands half veiled the Mountains' King When rainy clouds about him cling.
By nimble turn, by rapid bound He shunned the shafts that rained aroun^, Eluding, as in air he rose, The rushing chariots of his foes.
The mighty Vanar undismayed Amid his archer foemen played, As plays the frolic wind on high Mid bow- armed1 clouds that fill the sky, He raised a mighty roar and yell That fear on all the army fell, And then, his warrior soul aglow With fury, rushed upon the foe, Some with his open hand he beat To death, and trampled with his feet; Some with fierce nails he rent arid slew, And others vyith his fists o'erthrew; Some with his legs, as on he rushed, Some with his bulky chest he crushed: While some struck senseless by his roar Dropped on the ground and breathed no more.
The remnant, seized with sudden dread, Turned from the grove and wildly fled. The trampled earth was thickly strovvn With steed and car and flag o'erthrown, And the red blood in rivers flowed From slaughtered fiends o'er path and road.
CANTO XLVL THE CAPTAINS.
Mad with the rage of injured pride King Ravan summoned to his side The valiant five who led his host. Supreme in war and honoured most. • Go forth,' he cried, ' with car and steed, And to my feet this monkey lead. But watch each chance of time and place To seize this thing of silvan race. For from his wondrous exploits he No monkey of the woods can be, 1 Armed with the bow of Jndra, the rainbow.
THE RAM AY AN.
Boole V.
But some new kind of creature meant To work us woe, by Indra sent. Gandharvas, Nagas, and the best Of Yakshas have our might confessed. Have we not challenged and subdued The whole celestial multitude? Yet will you not, if you are wise, A chief of monkey race despise. For I myself have Bali known, And King Sugriva's power I own. But none of all their woodland throng Was half so terrible and strong.' Obedient to the words he spike They hastened forth the foe to take. Swift were the cars whereon they rode, And bright their weapons flashed and glowed.
glowed.
They saw: they charged in wild career With sword and mace and axe and spear. From Durdhar's bow five arrows sped And quivered in the Vanar's head. He rose and roared: the fearful sound Made all the region echo round. Then from above his weight he threw On Durdhar's car that near him drew. The weight that came with lightning speed Crushed pole and axle, car and steed. It shattered Durdhar's head and neck, And left him lifeless mid the wreck. Yupaksha saw the warrior die, And Virupaksha heard his cry, And, mad for vengeance for the slain, They charged their Vdnar fee again. He rose in air: they onward pressed And fiercely smore him on the breast. In vain they struck his iron frame: With eagle swoop to earth he came, Tore from the ground a tree that grew Beside him. and the demons slew. Then Bhasakarna raised his spear, And Praghas wi'th a laugh drew near, And, maddened at the sight, the two Against the undaunted Vanar flew. As from his wounds the torrents flowed, Like a red sun the Variar showed. ^ He turned, a mountain peak to seize With all its beasts and snakes and trees. He hurled it on the pair: and they Crushed, overwhelmed, beneath it lay.
CANTO XLVIL THE DEATH OF AKSHA.
But Ravan, as his fury burned, His eyes oil youthful Aksha1 turned, Who rose impetuous at his glance And shouted for his bow and lance.
's don.
he He rode upon a glorious car That shot the light of gems afar. His pennon waved mid glittering gold And bright the wheels with jewels rolled, By long and fierce devotion won That car was splendid as the sun. With rows of various weapons stored; And thought-swift horses whirled their lord Racing along the earth, or rose High through the clouds whene'er chose.
Then fierce and fearful war between The Vanar and the fiend was seen. The Gods and Asurs stood amazed, And on the wondrous combat gazed. A cry from earth rose long and shrill, The wind was hushed, the sun grew chill. The thunder bellowed from the sky, And troubled ocean roared reply. Thrice Aksha strained his dreadful bow, Thrice smote his arrow on the foe, And with full streams of crimson bled Three gashes in the Vanar's head. Then rose Hanuman in the ail- To shun the shafts no life could bear. But Aksha in his car pursued. And from on high the fight renewed With storm of arrows, thick as hail When angry clouds some hill assail. Impatient of that arrowy shower The Vanar chief put forth his power, Again above his chariot rose And smote him with repeated blows. Terrific came each deadly stroke i Breast neck and arm and back he broke; And Aksha fell to earth, and lay With all his life-blood drained away.
CANTO XL VIII.
HANUMAN CAPTURED.
To Indrajit1 the bold and brave The giant king his mandate gave: ' O trained in warlike science, best In arms of all our mightiest, Whose valour in the conflict shown To Asurs and to Gods is known, The Kinkars whom I sent are slain, And Jambumali and his train; The lords who led our giant bands Have fallen by the monkey's hands; With shattered cars the ground is spread, And Aksha lies amid the dead. Thou art my best and bravest: go, Unmatched'in power, and slay the foe.'
1 'Conqueror of Indra,' another of Ra, van's sons.
Canto L.
THE RAM AY AN.
He heard the best: he bent his head; A thirst for battle forth lie sped. Four tigers fierce, of tawny hue, With fearful teeth, his chariot drew.
Hanuman heard his strong bow clang, And swiftly from the earth lie sprang, While weak and ineffective fell The archer's shafts though pointed well. The Rakshas saw that naught might kill The wondrous foe who mocked his skill, And launched a magic shaft to throw A binding spell about his foe. Forth flew the shaft: the mystic charm Stayed his swift feet and numbed his arm. Through all his frame he felt the spell, And motionless to earth he fell. Nor would the reverent Vanar loose The bonds that bound him as auoose. He knew that Brahma's self had charmed The weapon that his might disarmed.
They saw him helpless on the ground, And all the giants pressed around, And bonds of hemp and bark were cast About his limbs to hold him fast. They drew the ropes round feet and wrists; They beat him with their hands and fists. And d ragged him as they strained the cord With shouts of trumph to their lord.1 CANTO XLIX.
RAVAN.
CANTO XLIX.
RAVAN.
On the fierce king Hanuman turned His angry eyes that glowed and burned. He saw him decked with wealth untold Of diamond and pearl and gold, And priceless was each wondrous gem That sparkled in his diadem. About his neck rich chains were twined, Th^ best that fancy e'er designed, And a fair robe with pearls bestrung Down from his mighty shoulders hung. Ten heads he reared,2 as Mandar's hill 1 The sluka which follows is probably an interpolation, as it is inconsistent with the questioning in Canto L.: He looked on Ravan in his pride, And boldly to the monarch cried: ' I came an envoy to this place From him who rules the Vanar race. 55 The ten heads of Ravan have pro- voked much ridicule from European cri- tics. It should be remembered that Spenser tells us of "two brethren giants" " The one of which had two heads, the other three; " and Milton speaks of the "four-fo'd visaged Four," the four Cheru- bic shapes each of whom had four faces.
Lifts woody peaks which tigers fill. Bright were his eyes, and bright, beneath, The flashes of his awful teeth. His brawny arms of wondrous size Were decked with rings and scented dyes, His hands like snakes with rive long heads Descending from their mountain beds. He sat upon a crystal throne Inlaid with wealth of precious stone, Whereon, of noblest work, was set A gold-embroidered coverlet, Behind the monarch stood the best Of beauteous women gaily dressed, And each her giant master fanned, Or waved a chourie in her hand. Four noble courtiers1 wise and good In counsel, near the monarch stood, As the four oceans ever stand About the sea-encompassed land. Still, though his heart with rage wasfired, The Vanar marvelled and admired: ' O, what a rare and wondrous sight I What beauty, majesty, and might! All regal pomp combines to grace This ruler of the Rakshas race. He, if he scorned not right and law, Might guide the world with tempered a we; Yea. Indra and the Gods on high Might on his saving power rely.'
CANTO L, PRAHASTA'S QUESTIONS.
Then fierce the giant's fury blazed As on Hanuman's form he gazed; And shaken by each wild surmise He spake aloud with flashing eyes: ' Can this be Nandi2 standing here, The mighty one whom all revere? Who once on high Kailasa's hill Pronounced the curse that haunts me still? Or is the woodland creature one Of Asur race, or Bali's3 son? The wretch with searching question try: Learn who he is, and whence; and why He marred the glory of the grove, And with niy captains fiercely strove.'
1 Durdhar, or as the Bengal recension reads Mahodara, Prahasta, Mahaparsva, and Nikumbha.
2 The chief attendant of $iva.
3 Bali, not to be confounded with Bali the Vanar, was a celebrated Daitya or demon who had usurped the empire of the three worlds, and who was deprived of two thirds of his dominions by Vishnu iu the Dwarf-incarnation, THE RAM AY AN.
Book V Prahasta heard his lord's behest. And thus the Vanar chief addressed: ' O monkey stranger be consoled: Fear not, and let thy heart be bold. If thou by Indra's mandate sent Thy steps to Lanka's isle hast bent, With fearless words the cause explain, And freedom thou shalt soon regain. Or if thou comest as a spy Despatched by Vishnu in the sky, Or sent by Yania, or the Lord Of Riches, hast our town explored; Proved by the prowess thou hast shown No monkey save in form alone; Speak boldly all the truth, and be Released from bonds, unharmed and free. But falsehood spoken to our king Swift punishment of death will bring.'
He ceased: the Vanar made reply; '•Not Indra's messenger am I, IS or came I hither to fulfil Kuvera's hest or Vishnu's will, 1 stand before the giaiits here A Vanar e'en as I appear. I longed to see the king: 'twas hard £o win my way through gate and guard. And so to gain rny \yish I laid In ruin that delightful shade. No fiend, no God of heavenly kind With bond or chain these limbs may bind. The Eternal Sire himself of old Vouchsafed the boon that makes me bold, From Brahma's magic shaft released1 I kne>v the captor's power had ceased. The fancied bonds I freely brooked, And thus upon the king have Looked, My way to Lanka have I won, A messenger from Raghu's son,' CANTO LI.
H^NUMAN'S REPLY.
'My king Sugrlva greets thee fair, And bids me thus his rede declare. Son of the God of Wind, by name Hanuman, to this isle I came. To set the Maithi) lady free £ crossed the barrier of the sea. I roamed in search of her and found Her weeping in that lovely ground. Thou in the lore of duty trained, Who hast by stern devotion gained This wondrous wealth and power and fame Shouldst fear to wrong another's dame.
1 When Hanuman was bound with cords, Indrajit released his captive from the spell Jaid upon him by the magic weapon.
Hear thou my counsel, and be wise: No tiend, no dweller in the skies Can bear the shafts by Lakshman shot, Or Rama when his wrath is hot. * O Giant King, repent the crime And soothe him while there yet is time, Now be the Maithil queen restored Uninjured to her sorrowing lord.
Soon wilt thou rue thy dire mistake: She is no woman but a snake.
Whose very deadly bite will be The ruin of thy house and thee.
Thy pride has led thy thoughts astray, That fancy not a hand may slay The monarch of the giants, screened From mortal blow of God and fiend.
Sugriva still thy death may be: No Yaksha, fiend, or God is he.
And Rama from a woman springs, The mortal seed of mortal kings.
O think how Bali fell subdued; Think on thy slaughtered multitude, Kespect those brave and strong allies j Consult thy safety, and be wise.
I, even I, no helper need To overthrow, with -car and steed, Thy city Lanka half divine: The power but not the will is mine.
For Raghu's son, before his friend The Vanar monarch, swore to end With his own conquering arm the life Of him who stole his darling wife.
Turn, and be wise, O Ravan turn; Or thou wilt see thy Lanka burn, And with thy wives, friends, kith and kin Be ruinecj. for thy senseless sin.'
CANTO LIT.
VIBHISHAN'S SPEECH, Then Ravan spake with flashing eye: ' Hence with the Vanar: let him die.' Vibhishan heard the stern behest. And pondered in his troubled breast; Then, trained in arts that soothe and please Addressed the king in words like these: ' Revoke, my lord, thy fierce decree, And hear the words I speak to thee. Kings wise and noble ne'er condemn To death the envoys sent to them. Such deed the world's contempt would draw On him who breaks the ancient law.1 Observe the mean where justice lies, And spare his life but still chastise.'
1 " One who murders an ambassador (raja Wiata} goes to Taptakumbha ithe hell of heated caldrons)." WILSON'S Visfyn1* Purdna, Vol. II. p. 217, Canto LHI.
THE RAM A TAN.
Then forth the tyrant's fury broke, And thus in augry words he spoke: I ' O hero, when the wicked bleed No sin or shame attends the deed. The Vanar's blood must needs be spilt, i The penalty of heinous guilt.'
Again Vibhishan made reply; i 'Nay, hear nae, for he must not die. Hear the great law the wise declare; 'Thy foeman's envoy thou shalt spare.' ' Tis true he comes an open foe; 9 Tis true his hands have wrought us woe. But law allows thee, if thou wilt, A punishment to suit the guilt. The mark of shame, the scourge, the brand, : The shaven head, the wounded hand. Yea, were the Vanar envoy slain, Where, King of giants, were the gain? On them alone, on them who sent 'The message, be the punishment, For spake he well or spake he ill, He spake obedient to their will. And, if he perish,, who can bear Thy challenge to the royal pair? Who, cross the ocean and incite Thy death-doomed enemies to fight?'
CANTO LIII.
THE PUNISHMENT.
King Ravan, by his pleading moved, The counsel of the chief approved: ' Thy words are wise and true; to kill An envoy would beseem us ill. Yet must we for his crime invent Some fitting mode of punishment. The tail, I fancy, is the part Most cherished by a monkey's heart.1 Make ready: set his tail aflame, And let him leave us, as he came, And thus disfigured and disgraced Back to his king and people haste.' > The giants heard their monarch's speech; And, tilled with burning fury, eaeh Brought strips of cotton cloth, and round [The monkey's tail the bandage wound. )M round his tail the bands they drew His mighty form dilating grew " It will be remembered that the envoys )f King David had the half of their beards shaved off by Hanun, King of Immon. (2 Sam. X.) " WHEELER, Hist, \f India, Vol. II. 342.
1 I have not attempted to tone down uiything in this Cauto. I give a faithful translation.
Vast as the flame that bursts on high Where trees are old and grass is dry. Each band and strip they soaked in oil, And set on fire the twisted coil. Delighted as they viewed the blaze, The cruel demons stood at gaze: And mid loud drums and shells rang out The triumph of their joyful shout. They pressed about him thick and fast As through the crowded streets he passed, Observing with attentive care Eaeh rich and wondrous structure there, Still heedless of the eager cry That rent the air, The spy! the spy 1 Some to the captive lady ran, And thus in joyous words began: 4 That eopper-visaged monkey, he Who in the garden talked with thee, Through Lanka's town is led a show, And round his tail the red flames glow.' The mournful news the lady heard That with fresh grief her bosom stirred. Swift to the kindled fire she went And prayed before it reverent: ' If I my husband have obeyed, And kept the aseetic vows I made, Free, ever free, from stain and blot, O spare the Vanar; harm him not.'
Then leapt on high the flickering flame And shone in answer to the dame. The pitying fire its rage forbore; The Vanar felt the heat no more. Then, to minutest size reduced,1 The bonds that bound his limbs he loosed, And, freed from every band and chain, Rose to his native size again. He seized a club of ponderous weight That lay before him by the gate, Rushed at the fiends that hemmed him round.
And laid them lifeless on the ground, Through Lanka's town again he strode, And viewed each street and square and road,— Still wreathed about with harmless blaze, A sun engarlanded with rays.
1 ** Behold a wonder! they but now who seemed In bigness to surpass earth's giant sons, Now less than smallest dwarfs in narrow room Throng numberless."
Paradise Lost, I, 776, THE RAM AY AN.
Book V.
CANTO LIV.
THE BURNING OF LANKA.
'What further deed remains to do To vex the Hakshas king anew? The beauty of his grove is marred, Killed are the bravest of his guard. The captains of his host are sJain; But forts and palaces remain. Swift is the work and light the toil Each fortress of the foe to spoil.'
Reflecting thus, his tale ablaze As through the cloud red lightning plays, Jle scaled the palaces and spread 3 he conflagration where he sped. From house to house he hurried on, And the wild flames behind him shone. Each mansion of the foe he scaled, And furious fire its roof assailed Till all the commcn ruin shared i Vibhishan's house alone was spared. From blazing pile to pile he sprang, And. loud his shout of triumph rang, As roars the doomsday cloud when all The worlds in dissolution fall. The friendly wind conspired to fan The hungry flames that leapt and ran, And spreading in their fury caught The gilded walls with pearls inwrought, Till each proud palace reeled aud fell As falls a heavenly citadel.
Loud was the roar the demons raised Mid walls that split and beams that blazed, As each with vain endeavour strove To stay the flames in house or grove.. The women, with dishevelled hair, Flocked to the roofs in wild despair, Shrieked out for succour, wept aloud, And fell, like lightning from a cloud. He saw the flames ascend aud curl Round turkis, diamond, and pearl, While silver floods and mplteu gold From ruined wall and latice rolled, As tire grows fiercer as he feeds On wood and grass and crackling reeds, So Han urn an the ruin eyed With fury still unsatisfied.
CANTO LY.
CANTO LY.
FEAR FOR But other thoughts resumed their sway When Lanka's town in ruin lay; And, as his bosom felt their weight, He stood a while to meditate: 'What have I dvwie?', he thought with gkaoao: ' Destroyed the town with hostile flame.
0 happy they whose firm control Checks the wild passion of the soul; Who on the fires of anger throw The cooling drops that check their glow. But woe is me, whom wrath could lead To do this senseless shameless deed. The town to fire and death I gave, Nor thought of her I came to save, — Doomed by my own rash folly, doomed To perish in the flames consumed. Jf I, when anger drove me wild, Have caused the death of Janak's child, The kindled flame shall end my woe, Or the deep fires that burn below,1 Or my forsaken corse shall be Food for the monsters of the sea. How can I meet Sugriva? how Before the royal brothers bow. — 1 whose rash deed has madly foiled. The noble work in which we toiled? Or has her own bright virtue shed Its guardian influence round her head? She lives untouched,— the peerless dame Flame has no fury for the flame. * The very fire would ne'er consent To harm a queen so excellent, — The high-souled Rama's faithful wife, Protected by her holy life. She lives, she lives. Why should T fear For one whom Eaghu's sons hold dear * Has not the pitying fire that spared The Vanar for the lady cared? ' Such were his thoughts: he pondere< long, And fear grew faint and hope grew strong Then round him heavenly voices rang, And, sweetly tuned, his praises sang: ' O glorious is the exploit done By Hanuman the Wind-God's son. The flames o'er Lanka's city rise: The giants' home in ruin lies. O'er roof and wall the fires have spread,, Nor harmed a hair of SitaVs head,' CANTO LVI.
MOUNT ARISHTA.
He looked upon the burning waste, Then sought the queen in joyous haste^ With words of hope consoled her heart, And made him ready to depart.
' The fire which is supposed to bur beneath the sea.
* Situ, is likened to the fire which is a emblem of purity, Canto LVIL THE RAM AY AN.
He scaled Arishta's glorious steep Whose summits beetled o'er the deep. The woods in varied beauty dressed Hung like a garland round his crest, And clouds of ever changing hue A robe about his shoulders threw. On him the rays of morning fell To wake the hill they loved so well, And bid unclose those splendid eyes That glittered in his mineral dyes. He woke to hear the music made By thunders of the white cascade, While every laughing rill that sprang From crag to crag its carol sang. For arms, he lifted to the stars His towering stems of Deodars, And morning heard his pealing call In tumbling brook and waterfall. He trembled when his woods were pale And bowed beneath the autumn gale, And when his vocal reeds were stirred His rnalancholy moan was heard.
Far down against the mountain's feet The Vanar heard the wild waves beat; Then turned his glances to the north, Sprang from the peak and bounded forth. The mountain felt the fearful shock And trembled through his mass of rock. The tallest trees were crushed and rent Arid headlong to the valley sent, And as the rocking shook each cave Loud was the roar the lions gave. Forth from the shaken cavern came Fierce serpents with their tongues aflame; And every Yaksha, wild with dread, And Kinnar and Gandharva, fled.
CANTO LVII.
HANUMAN'S RETURN.
Still, like a winged mountain, he Sprang forward through the airy sea,1 And rushing through the ether drew The clouds to follow as he flew, Through the great host around him spread, Grey, golden, dark, and white, and red.
1 ' I omit two stanzas which continue the metaphor of the sea or lake of air. The moon is its lotus, the sun its wild- duck, the clouds are its water-weeds, Mars is its shark and so on. Gorresio remarks: 4 This comparison of a great lake to the sky and of celestial to aquatic objects is one of those ideas which the view and qualities of natural scenery awake in live- ly fancies, Imagine one of those grand Now in a sable cloud immersed, Now from its gloomy pall he burst, Like the bright Lord of Stars concealed A moment, and again revealed. Sunabha1 passed, he neared the coast Where waited still the Vanar host. They heard a rushing in the skien, And lifted up their wondering eyes. His wild triumphant shout they knew That louder still and louder grew, And Jambavan with eager voice Called on the Vanars to rejoice: ' Look he returns, the Wind-God's son, And full success his toils have won; Triumphant is the shout that comes Like music of a thousand drums.'
Up sprang the Vanars from the ground Ana listened to the wondrous sound Of hurtling arm and thigh as through The region of the air he flew, Loud as the wind, when tempests rave, Roars in the prison of the cave. From eras: to crag, from height to height, They bounded in their mad delight, And when he touched the mountain's crest, Wii/h reverent welcome round him pressed. They brought him of their woodland fruits, They brought him of the choicest roots, And laughed and shouted in their glee The noblest of their chiefs to see. Nor Hanuman delayed to greet Sage Jambavan with reverence meet; To Angad and the chiefs he bent For age and rank preeminent, And briefly spoke: * These eyes have seen, These lips addressed, the Maithil queen.' They sat beneath the waving trees, And Angad spoke in words like these: * O noblest of the Vanar kind For valour power and might combined, To thee triumphant o'er the foe Our h»pes, our lives and all we owe. O faithful heart in perils tried, and splendid lakes of India covered with lotus blossoms, furrowed by wild-ducks of the most vivid colours, mantled over here and there with flowers and water j weeds &c., and it will be understood how i the fancy of the poet could readily compare to the sky radiant with celestial azure the blue expanse of the water, to the soft light of the moon the tender hue of the j lotus, to the splendour of the sun the bri- I lliant colours of the wild-fowl, to the stars j the flowers, to the clouds the weeds that float upon the water &c.'
1 Sun&bha is the mountain tbat ros© from the eea when Hanum&n passed over to Lanka, THE RAM AY AN.
Boole 1 Which toil nor fear could turn aside, Thy deed the lady will restore, And Rama's heart will ache no more,' l CANTO LXI.
THE FEAST OF HONEY.
They rose in air: the region grew Dark with their shadow as they flew. Swift to a lovely grove* they came That rivalled heavenly Nandan's3 fame Where countless bees their honey stored,- The pleasance of the Vanars' lord, To every creature fenced and barred, - Which Dadhimukh was set to guard, A noble Vanar, brave and bold, Sugriva's uncle lof ty-souled.
To Angad came with one accord The Vanars, and besought their lord That they those honeyed stores might eat That made the grove so passing sweet. He gave consent: they sought the trees • Thronged with innumerable bees. They rifled all the treasured store, And ate the fruit the branches bore, And still as they prolonged the feast Their merriment and joy increased. Drunk with the sweets, they danced and bowed, They wildly sang, they laughed aloud, Some climbed and sprang from tree to tree, Some sat and chattered in their glee. Some scaled the trees which creepers crowned, And rained the branches to the ground. There with loud laugh a Vanar sprang Close to his friend who madly sang. In doleful mood another crept To mix his tears with one who wept.