The Ramcharitmanas 1
Page 29
For you are the abode of compassion.’
(336)
Having spoken thus, the queen clasped his feet and fell silent
As though her voice had been lost in the muddy softness of love.
On hearing her gentle words so steeped in love,
Ram paid homage to his mother-in-law in many ways.
Then, with folded hands, Ram asked for permission to leave,
Saluting her again and again.
Receiving her blessing, and once more bowing his head,
Raghurai left with his brothers.
Drawing his sweet and beautiful image into their hearts,
The queens, overcome with love, were unable to move.
Then, composing themselves, and calling their daughters,
The mothers embraced them again and again.
They would escort their daughters a little way, and then embrace them again—
The love between them kept growing.
Embracing each other again and again, they were at last separated by their friends
Like cows from their unweaned calves.
All the townsmen and women,
And the queens and their companions were so overwhelmed by love,
It seemed as though the city of Videha had become
The abode of sorrow and anguished partings.
(337)
The parrot and the maina that Janaki had reared
And kept in golden cages and taught to speak,
Cried out, agitated, ‘Where is Vaidehi?’
Hearing them, who could remain unmoved?
If even birds and animals were so distressed,
How can I describe the state of human beings?
Then Janak came with his brother,
His eyes filled with tears of love.
Upon beholding Sita, composure deserted him
And his reputed detachment from the attachments of this world became but a saying.
The king clasped Janaki to his breast
And his wisdom’s great restraint was destroyed.
His wise ministers admonished him,
And the king, realizing this was no time for sorrow, composed himself.
Embracing his daughters again and again,
He called for the beautiful palanquins that stood ready.
The whole family was overcome by love,
Yet, the king, seeing that the auspicious moment had come,
Seated the princesses in the palanquins,
Recalling Ganesh and his consort, Siddhi.
(338)
The king gave his daughters much advice
And instructed them in woman’s dharma and their family’s traditions.
He sent with them many maid- and menservants
Who were trusted attendants and dear to Sita.
As Sita set off, the townsfolk grew distraught,
But the stars were favourable and all good signs and auspicious omens were present.
Accompanied by a crowd of Brahmans and ministers,
The king went with his daughters to escort them part of the way.
Seeing that the moment had come to depart, the wedding guests
Readied chariots and elephants and horses, and music began to play.
Dasharath called for all the Brahmans
And giving them gifts and reverence, made them happy and satisfied.
The lord of the earth put the dust of their lotus feet upon his head
And receiving their blessings, rejoiced.
As he set forth, meditating upon elephant-faced Ganesh,
Innumerable auspicious omens of happiness and good fortune occurred.
As the gods, rejoicing, rained down flowers
And apsaras sang,
The lord of Avadh departed for Avadh
To the joyous beating of drums.
(339)
The king courteously sent back the important men of the city
And with reverence called for all the mendicants and beggars
To give them ornaments, clothes, horses and elephants,
And thus, with affection, made sure they were well looked after.
Again and again they recited the fame and glory of his clan
And holding Ram in their hearts, turned back.
Though the king of Koshal urged him again and again,
Janak, bound by love, did not wish to turn back.
The king said again in gentle tones,
‘Turn back, king, you have come a great distance.’
Then, climbing down from his chariot, Dasharath stood firmly there,
His eyes overflowing with tears of love.
Then said Videha’s king with folded hands,
In words steeped in the nectar of love,
‘In what humble manner, with what words of reverence, can I express what I wish to say?
My lord has conferred such great honour upon me.’
Koshal’s lord paid homage in every way
To his kinsman, his son’s father-in-law.
They embraced with great humility,
Their love could not be contained in their hearts.
(340)
Janak bowed his head to the crowd of sages
And received blessings from them all.
He then embraced, with reverence, his sons-in-law,
The four brothers, in each of whom resided beauty, grace and virtue.
Folding his lotus hands so gracious,
He spoke in words that seemed born of love,
‘Ram, in what way may I praise you?
The swan upon the Manas lake that is the hearts of the munis and Mahesh,
For whom ascetics practise asceticism and austere penance
Renouncing anger, love, attachment and desire,
The all-pervading Absolute, invisible, formless, indestructible,
The essence of consciousness and bliss, devoid of all attributes, but the treasure house containing every virtue;
Whom neither the mind nor speech can understand,
Whom no theorizers can reason or speculate upon,
Whose power and glory is described by the Vedas as only ‘not this’,
And who remains the same in all times, past, present and future—
You, the source of all bliss,
Have revealed yourself to me and become visible to my eyes,
For every joy in the world becomes accessible to the soul
Favoured by God.
(341)
You have honoured me in every way,
And knowing me to be your devotee, you have made me your own.
If there were ten thousand Sharadas and Sheshnags
And they were to count and compute for ten million kalpas,
They could not relate the full extent of my good fortune
Or your virtues, Raghunath.
What little I dare to say, I say on the strength of my conviction
That you are pleased by even the smallest amount of love.
Again and again, with folded hands I ask,
Let my heart never leave your feet, not even by mistake.’
Hearing these noble words nourished and made stronger by love,
Ram, in whom is fulfilled all desire, was content.
He paid homage to his father-in-law with gentle courtesy,
Considering him equal to his own father, Kaushik and Vasishtha.
Then Janak humbly saluted Bharat,
Embraced him with affection, and gave him his blessings.
Embracing Lakshman and Ripusudan
The king gave them his blessings.
Everyone, overwhelmed with love for one another,
Bowed their heads again and again.
(342)
After courteously praising Janak again and again,
Raghupati departed with all his brothers.
Then Janak clasped Kaushik’s feet,
Placing their dust upon his head and eyes.
‘Hear me, lord of the munis, having been in your gracious pres
ence,
I am convinced that nothing is now unattainable for me—
Whatever bliss or fame that the kings of this earth desire,
But hesitate to ask for,
Are accessible to me, lord,
For all success is consequent upon your presence.’
The king paid him humble homage, bowing again and again,
And receiving his blessings, turned back towards home.
The wedding procession departed to the beating of drums
To the delight of all those gathered there, great and small.
Upon seeing Ram, the men and women of the villages
Rejoiced, for their eyes had received their highest reward.
Stopping and resting at various points during the journey
And giving much joy to the people along the way,
The wedding procession, on an auspicious day,
Drew near Avadh.
(343)
Drums beat, and tabors resounded,
Conches sounded, horses and elephants neighed and trumpeted,
Cymbals crashed and tambourines jingled,
While shehnais played sweet and pleasing tunes.
When they heard the wedding procession approach,
The townsfolk were delighted and trembled with anticipation and joy.
They began, each one, to decorate their own homes
And marketplaces, streets, squares and city gates.
All the lanes were sprinkled with perfumed water,
And beautiful and auspicious squares were drawn and decorated everywhere.
The marketplace was so ornamented with festoons of flowers,
And banners, flags and canopies, that its description is beyond telling.
Areca-nut, banana and mango trees laden with fruit,
And saplings of bakul, kadamb and tamal were transplanted,
Their beautiful branches brushing the ground,
In jewelled basins finely wrought.
Sacred pitchers were made ready and decorated in many ways,
And placed in every house.
Brahma and the other gods grew envious
As they gazed upon Raghubar’s city.
(344)
The king’s palace, upon that occasion, was so resplendent
That its decorations captivated the heart of Madan himself.
It seemed as though auspiciousness, good omens and heart-enchanting loveliness,
Prosperity, plenty, and every perfection, happiness, well-being, gracious magnificence
And joy had all assumed graceful and beautiful forms
And come, one by one, to Dasharath’s home
To look upon Ram and Vaidehi,
For tell me, who would not yearn for this sight?
Crowds of women went forth to meet them,
Each, with her beauty, putting to shame even Madan’s beloved,
And all with auspicious offerings and ready to perform arti
And singing as though it were Bharatilxxix herself in many forms.
There was great revelry in the king’s palace—
It is impossible to describe the gladness and joy of the occasion.
Kaushalya and the other mothers100 of Ram
Were so overcome with love that they had grown unmindful even of their own bodies.
They bestowed large gifts upon the Brahmans
And worshipped Ganesh and Purari.
They were as full of joy
As paupers who find the four rewards of life.
(345)
The royal mothers were all so overcome with gladness and joy
That their bodies grew weak and their feet would not move.
Longing to see Ram,
They made ready for his welcome.
Many kinds of musical instruments began to play
And Sumitra, rejoicing, made ready the auspicious offerings—
Turmeric, dub grass, curd, leaves and flowers,
Betel leaves, areca-nuts and other important items for good fortune,
Unbroken rice, barley shoots, gorochan, parched grain
And graceful sprigs of tulsi she laid out,
And golden vessels, beautifully painted, so resplendent
They seemed like nests made by Madan’s own birds,
And auspicious offerings and perfumes beyond telling—
The queens made ready every auspicious item.
They decorated many festive platters with lamps for arti
And joyously sang sweet songs of celebration.
With golden platters filled with auspicious offerings
In their lotus hands, the rejoicing mothers set off
To welcome their sons,
Their bodies trembling with joy
(346)
The smoke of burning incense darkened the sky
As though overcast by rainclouds gathering in the month of Savan.
The gods rained down garlands of celestial flowers
Like rows of cranes in flight that captivate the heart.
Charming festoons of precious gems
Glittered like Indra’s divine bow.lxxx
Upon balconies and rooftops women appeared and disappeared—
Bright and swift, they seemed like lightning flashing.
The beat of drums was like the deep rumble of rainclouds,
The musicians and minstrels called like chataks, frogs and peacocks.
The sweet perfumes that the gods rained down were like pure showers of rain,
And the men and women of the city, like glad fields of paddy.
Knowing it was time, the guru gave the command
And the jewel of the race of Raghu,
Meditating upon Shambhu, Girija and Ganesh,
And rejoicing greatly, entered the city with his retinue.
Good omens appeared everywhere,
The gods rained down flowers and beat their drums,
Celestial women danced and, rejoicing,
Sang sweet songs of celebration.
(347)
Minstrels, storytellers, bards, mimes and clever wags
Sang the fame and glory of the light of the three worlds.
Songs of jubilation and the pure, sweet sound of the Vedas being chanted,
Steeped in celebration and felicity, could be heard in all the ten directions.
Many musical instruments began to play,
And the gods in the sky and the people in the city were captivated.
The magnificence of the wedding party cannot be described,
They are so full of joy that their hearts cannot contain their happiness.
The residents of the city paid homage to their king
And, beholding Ram, were overcome with joy.
They showered him with gifts of jewels and raiment,
Their eyes full of tears, their bodies trembling with joy.
The women of the city, enraptured, performed the arti
And rejoiced upon beholding the four handsome young princes.
Drawing aside the beautiful curtains of the palanquins,
They beheld the brides and were overjoyed.
In this manner, giving joy and happiness to all,
They arrived at the doors of the royal palace,
Where their delighted mothers welcomed
The princes and their brides.
(348)
They perform the welcome arti again and again—
Who can describe their love and joy?—
And shower upon them in unlimited abundance
Ornaments, precious jewels and rich garments of many kinds.
Beholding their four sons with their brides,
The mothers were lost in greatest bliss.
They gazed again and again upon the radiant beauty of Sita and Ram
And, delighted, considered their existence upon this earth fulfilled.
Their friends looked again and again at Sita’s countenance
And praised past deeds that had given them this reward.
Th
e gods rained down flowers every instant
And, dancing and singing, they offered their homage.
Seeing the four heart-enchanting couples,
Sharada searched through all similes and metaphors,
But they all fell short, she could not find any,
And just gazed unblinkingly upon their enchanting beauty.
Performing the rites prescribed by the Vedas and the rituals prescribed by family custom,
And pouring libations and spreading carpets before them as they went,
The royal mothers welcomed their sons with their brides,
And led them into the palace.
(349)
Four magnificent thrones stood there, so beautiful
It seemed that the mind-born god of love had made them with his own hands.
Upon these they seated the princesses and the princes
And washed with reverence their sacred feet.
Then, in accordance with Vedic ritual, with incense, lamps and ritual offerings of food,
They worshipped the bridegrooms and the brides.
Again and again they performed arti,
And waved fans and pleasing chowris over their heads.
Countless gifts were showered upon them,
And the mothers, full of joy, were all as radiant
As a yogi who has discovered the highest truth,
Or a chronically ill man who has found life-restoring amrit,
Or a man poor from birth who has found the philosopher’s stone,
Or a blind man who has regained the use of his eyes,
Or a mute upon whose tongue Sharada has conferred her eloquence,
Or a warrior who has found victory in battle—
Greater by several million times than their happiness
Was the joy that the royal mothers found,
For, with his brothers, and duly married,
The full moon of the line of Raghu had returned home.
(350A)
The mothers performed the customary rituals,
Embarrassing the bridegrooms and their brides.
Perceiving their great love and delight,
Ram smiled to himself.
(350B)
They worshipped gods and ancestors according to ritual,
For every desire of their hearts had been fulfilled.
Paying homage to all, they asked for the boon