by Tulsidas
And ask everyone for news of Sita.
With thought, deed and word devise a way
To accomplish Ramchandra’s work.
The sun may be served with one’s back to it, and fire with one’s face towards it,
But a master must be served with one’s whole being, without deceit.
Wait upon the next life, abandoning delusion,
So that all the sorrows born of this existence disappear.
The culmination of a corporeal existence, brothers,
Is the worship of Ram, forsaking all worldly desires.
He alone truly recognizes virtue, he alone is fortunate,
Who is devoted to Raghubir’s feet.’
Taking their leave of Sugriv, and bowing their heads at his feet,
They set off joyfully, invoking Raghurai.
The last to make obeisance was the Wind’s son.
Knowing that his work would be accomplished by Hanuman, the Lord called him near.
He touched his head with his lotus hands,
And, knowing him to be his devotee, gave him the ring from his finger and said,
‘Say all you can to comfort Sita,
Tell her of my great anguish at being separated from her, and return quickly.’
Hanuman considered his birth rewarded
And set off, holding the compassionate Lord in his heart.
Though the Lord knows everything,
He, protector of the gods, followed the rules of statesmanship.
The monkeys all set forth, searching
Every forest, river, lake and mountain cave.
Forgetting the needs of their own bodies,
They were completely engrossed in Ram’s work.
(23)
If, somewhere, they ran into a Rakshasa,
They took his life with a single blow.
They carefully searched every mountain and forest,
And if they met a muni, they would all crowd around him for news.
Soon they were overcome by thirst and grew greatly distressed,
But could find no water and lost their way in the dense forest.
Hanuman reflected to himself,
‘Without water to drink, we shall all die.’
He climbed a mountain peak and, looking all around,
Saw a strange spectacle around a cavern in the ground.
Chakravaks, herons and swans hovered above it,
While many other birds made their way into it.
The Wind’s son came down from the mountain,
And took them all and showed them that cavern.
Placing Hanuman at their head,
They entered the cavern without delay.
Entering, they saw a lovely garden,
And a lake upon which bloomed countless lotuses,
And in a beautiful temple there
Sat a woman, penance incarnate.6
(24)
From a distance they all bowed their heads to her,
And explained their situation when she asked.
She then said, ‘Drink some water,
And eat of these delicious and lovely fruits.’
They bathed and ate of the sweet fruits,
And then they returned, all of them, to her.
She then told them her whole story, and said,
‘I will now go to Raghurai.
Close your eyes and so leave this cave—
You will find Sita, so do not despair.’
The warriors closed their eyes, and when they opened them again,
They were all standing by the ocean shore.
But she, meanwhile, went to Raghunath,
And bowed her head at his lotus feet.
She paid him great homage,
And the Lord granted her unceasing devotion to him.
In obedience to the Lord’s command,
She left for the Badri forest,
Holding in her heart Ram’s two feet
Worshipped by Brahma and Shiv.
(25)
Meanwhile, here, the monkeys thought to themselves,
‘The given time is past but we have accomplished nothing.’
Gathering together, they said to each other,
‘Without news of Sita, what is the point of returning, brother?’
Said Angad, his eyes filling with tears,
‘Both ways we die, brothers—
Here, we have failed to get news of Sita,
There, the king of the monkeys will kill us.
He would have killed me when my father was slain.
It is Ram who protected me, so I owe Sugriv nothing.’
Again and again Angad said to the others,
‘Our death has come, of that there is no doubt.’
Upon hearing Angad’s words, the monkey warriors
Could not utter a word, and their eyes streamed with tears.
For a moment, they were plunged into worry,
But then all began to speak thus:
‘Unless we find news of Sita,
We will not go back, wise prince.’
So saying, the monkeys went down to the salt sea’s shore,
And, spreading some darbhiii grass, sat down.
Jamvant, seeing Angad’s grief,
Related many instructive tales.
‘Son, do not take Ram to be a mortal man,
Know him to be the nirgun brahm, without attributes, unconquerable, unborn.
We, his servants, are greatly blessed,
Ever devoted to the Absolute made Incarnate.
The Lord becomes incarnate of his own will
For the good of gods, the earth, cows and Brahmans.
Then the worshippers of his embodied form, giving up salvation,
Descend and remain with him here on earth.’
(26)
As Jamvant thus discoursed on many things,
Sampati heard him in his mountain cave.
He came out, and, seeing the crowd of monkeys, said,
‘The Lord of the world has sent me a feast!
I will eat them all up today—
I have been dying for want of food for many days.
Never before have I had enough food to fill my belly,
But today God has given it to me all at once!’
The monkeys were terrified to hear the vulture’s words—
‘Our death is certain, now we know for sure!’
Seeing the vulture, the monkeys all stood up,
And even Jamvant grew deeply worried.
But Angad, thinking to himself, cried out,
‘There is no one as blessed as Jatayu,
Who gave up his body for Ram’s purpose,
And, supremely blessed, ascended to Hari’s abode!’
Hearing these words that brought both joy and sorrow,
The bird drew near to the monkeys, who grew afraid.
Assuring them of their safety, he asked them about Jatayu,
And they told him the whole story.
When Sampati heard of his brother’s heroic deed, and how Ram had honoured him,
He sang of Raghupati’s glory.
‘Take me to the seashore,
So I may make him the last offering of sesame seeds.
In return for this service, I will help you with words
And you will find her whom you seek.’
(27)
He performed his younger brother’s last rites on the seashore,
And then, relating his own story, said, ‘Listen, monkey warriors,
Once, in our youth, we two brothers
Flew up into the sky so that we drew near the sun.
Jatayu could not tolerate its fierce heat and returned,
But I was arrogant and flew closer to the sun.
My wings were burnt by the intense heat,
And I fell to the ground with terrible screams.
A muni called Chandrama
Took pity on me when he saw me.
He instructed me in many kinds of knowledg
e,
And rid me of my pride in my body.
He said, “In the Treta age, the Supreme Spirit will assume the body of a man,
And the king of the demons will steal away his wife.
The Lord will send out spies to search for her,
And, when you meet them, you will be purified,
And your wings will grow again—so do not worry,
But show them where Sita will be.”
The muni’s words have come true today,
So listen to what I say and accomplish the Lord’s purpose.
Upon the Trikut mountain stands the city of Lanka,
Where lives Ravan, free from fear.
There, in a grove of ashok trees,
Sits Sita, plunged in sorrow.
I see her, though you cannot,
For a vulture’s eyesight is unparalleled.
I have grown old, or else
I would have helped you.
(28)
One who can leap a hundred yojans across the ocean,
And is endowed with intelligence—he alone can accomplish Ram’s purpose.
Look upon me and take courage in your hearts—
See how Ram’s grace has restored my body.
By invoking his name even a sinner
Can cross the vast and boundless ocean of this existence—
And you are his envoys. So abandon fear,
And, with Ram in your hearts, make your plans.’
After speaking thus, Garud, when the vulture left,
They felt great dismay in their hearts.
Each monkey stated his own strength,
But doubted that he could leap across the sea.
‘I have grown old,’ now spoke the king of the bears,
‘And not a trace of my earlier strength remains in my body.
When the slayer of Khar had taken the form of Tribikram,7
I was young and very strong.
As he took the Daitya Bali captive, the Lord grew to such an enormous size
That it cannot be described,
But in less than an hour
I ran around him seven times.’
(29)
Angad said, ‘I will leap across,
But I am not sure I will be able to get back again.’
Jamvant said, ‘You are capable of it,
But how can we send you? You are our leader!’
The lord of the bears then said, ‘Listen, Hanuman,
Why are you silent, mighty one?
You are the son of the Wind, and your strength is equal to that of the Wind.
You are also a mine of intelligence, discernment and knowledge.
What task in the world is so difficult
That you, dear son, cannot accomplish it?
It is to serve Ram’s purpose that you have descended to this earth.’
As soon as he heard these words, Hanuman grew as large as a mountain,
Golden-hued, his body shining with power,
As though he was another Sumeru, king of all the mountains.
Roaring like a lion again and again, he declared,
‘I can leap across this salt ocean as easily as in play,
Kill Ravan himself and all his army,
And tearing out Trikut by its roots, bring it here!
But, Jamvant, I ask you what I must do—
Please give me appropriate instructions.’
‘Do just this, dear son—go
And see Sita, and come back with news of her.
Then, by the strength of his own arm will the lotus-eyed one rescue her,
Taking with him as mere spectacle the monkey army.
With the monkey army, Ram will destroy
The demon host and bring back Sita,
And gods, Narad and other munis
Will sing his glorious fame that purifies the three spheres.
He who hears, sings, recites, or meditates upon this glory—
Which Tulsidas, the honeybee to the lotus feet of Raghubir,
Sings—
Will attain the supreme state.
Raghunath’s fame is the remedy for all the ills of this life.
He, slayer of the demon Trishira,
Fulfils every wish
Of the men and women who listen to his glory.
(30A)
He, whose body is as dark as the blue lotus,
Who is more beautiful than countless Kamdevs,
And whose name is the huntsman to the birds of sin—
Listen, then to his praises.’
(30B)
Thus ends the fourth descent into the Manas lake of Ram’s acts that destroys all the impurities of the age of Kali.
Book V
SUNDARKAND
(THE BEAUTIFUL)
Mangalacharan
Serene, eternal, beyond proof, without sin,
Bestower of the supreme peace that is salvation,
Unceasingly worshipped by Brahma, Shambhu, and Shesh,
Knowable through Vedant, all-pervading,
The lord of the universe who is called Ram,
The greatest of the gods, visible in human form because of his maya, remover of all sins,
He who is the noblest of the Raghu clan, a mine of compassion, and the crest-jewel of kings—
I worship him.
(1)
There is no other longing, Raghupati,
In my heart—
I speak the truth and you know the inner hearts of all—
O most excellent of the Raghus, grant me deep and ardent devotion to you,
And make my heart free of lust and all other faults.
(2)
The abode of immeasurable strength,
His body shining like a mountain of gold,
The fire in the forest of demons,
First amongst the wise,
The repository of all virtues,
Raghupati’s beloved devotee, the son of the Wind,
The monkey chief, Hanuman—
I bow to him.
(3)
Hearing Jamvant’s encouraging words,
Hanumant was greatly heartened.
‘Wait for me, brothers, and watch for me,
Enduring hardship and eating wild tubers, roots and fruit,
Till I return after seeing Sita.
I am certain our work will be done, for I feel great happiness.’
Saying this, he bowed to them all
And joyfully set forth, with Raghunath in his heart.
By the shore of the sea was a majestic mountain—
He sprang lightly to its peak.
Invoking Raghubir again and again,
The mighty son of the Wind leaped forth.
That mountain, upon which Hanumant had stood,
Was pushed down at once into the nethermost world.
Like Raghupati’s own unerring arrow,
Flew Hanuman.
The ocean, realizing that he was Raghupati’s envoy,
Said to Mainak, ‘Go, rise up, and offer him some rest.’1
But Hanuman merely touched the mountain
With his hand, and then, paying it homage, said,
‘Until I have accomplished Ram’s purpose,
There can be no rest for me.’
(1)
The gods saw the Wind’s son flying by,
And to test his extraordinary strength and intelligence,
They sent the mother of serpents, Surasa,
Who came and said to him,
‘Today the gods have sent me a meal!’
The Wind’s son replied,
‘Let me return after fulfilling Ram’s work,
And give news of Sita to my Lord—
Then I will enter your mouth.
I speak the truth, now let me go, Mother.’
But when, despite all his efforts, she would not let him go,
Hanuman said, ‘Then why not swallow me?’
She opened her jaws a full yojan wide,
But the monkey made
his body twice that size.
She spread her mouth sixteen yojans wide,
And at once the Wind’s son became thirty-two!
As Surasa spread her jaws wider and wider,
The monkey kept making his body twice as large.
But when she made her mouth a hundred yojans wide,
The Wind god’s son assumed a tiny form,
And entered her mouth and came out again at once.
Then, bowing his head to her, he asked leave to depart.
‘I have done what the gods had sent me for—
To try your strength and wisdom.
You will accomplish all Ram’s work,
For you are a treasure-house of strength and wisdom.’
Thus giving him her blessing, she left,
And Hanuman continued through the air, rejoicing.
(2)
A she-demon lived in the sea,
Who, through her magic, caught the birds of the air.
She would see the shadows cast on the water
By the creatures that flew across the sky—
These shadows she would grasp, so they could not fly.
In this way she would devour flying creatures every day.
She tried the same trick upon Hanuman,
But the monkey saw through it at once.
The valiant son of the Wind killed her,
And then that steadfast hero reached the ocean’s other shore.
There he saw the beauty of the forest,
With bees buzzing in their greed for honey,
And trees of many kinds, beautiful with fruits and flowers,
And multitudes of birds and deer pleasing to behold.
Seeing a high mountain ahead,
He ran and fearlessly climbed to its top.
Uma, this was not the monkey’s greatness,
But the glory of the Lord who devours death itself.
From the top of that mountain, he gazed upon Lanka,
A magnificent fortress that cannot be described—
Towering walls, encircled by the ocean on all sides,
And golden ramparts of dazzling brilliance.
Golden ramparts inlaid with rare and precious jewels,
And within them, numerous magnificent mansions,
Squares and marketplaces, and lovely lanes and alleyways—
A beautiful city, cleverly laid out.
Who could count the multitudes of elephants, horses and mules,