The Sanskrit Epics

by Delphi Classics

  Through the auspicious flood, at last,

  Of Vedaśrutí’s stream he passed,

  And onward to the place he sped

  By Saint Agastya tenanted.

  Still on for many an hour he hied,

  And crossed the stream whose cooling tide

  Rolls onward till she meets the sea,

  The herd-frequented Gomatí.321

  Borne by his rapid horses o’er,

  He reached that river’s further shore.

  And Syandiká’s, whose swan-loved stream

  Resounded with the peacock’s scream.

  Then as he journeyed on his road

  To his Videhan bride he showed

  The populous land which Manu old

  To King Ikshváku gave to hold.

  The glorious prince, the lord of men

  Looked on the charioteer, and then

  Voiced like a wild swan, loud and clear,

  He spake these words and bade him hear:

  “When shall I, with returning feet

  My father and my mother meet?

  When shall I lead the hunt once more

  In bloomy woods on Sarjú’s shore?

  Most eagerly I long to ride

  Urging the chase on Sarjú’s side.

  For royal saints have seen no blame

  In this, the monarch’s matchless game.”

  Thus speeding on, — no rest or stay, —

  Ikshváku’s son pursued his way.

  Oft his sweet voice the silence broke,

  And thus on varied themes he spoke.

  Canto L. The Halt Under The Ingudí.322

  SO THROUGH THE wide and fair extent

  Of Kośala the hero went.

  Then toward Ayodhyá back he gazed,

  And cried, with suppliant hands upraised:

  “Farewell, dear city, first in place,

  Protected by Kakutstha’s race!

  And Gods, who in thy temples dwell,

  And keep thine ancient citadel!

  I from his debt my sire will free,

  Thy well-loved towers again will see,

  And, coming from my wild retreat,

  My mother and my father meet.”

  Then burning grief inflamed his eye,

  As his right arm he raised on high,

  And, while hot tears his cheek bedewed,

  Addressed the mournful multitude:

  “By love and tender pity moved,

  Your love for me you well have proved;

  Now turn again with joy, and win

  Success in all your hands begin.”

  Before the high souled chief they bent,

  With circling steps around him went,

  And then with bitter wailing, they

  Departed each his several way.

  Like the great sun engulfed by night,

  The hero sped beyond their sight,

  While still the people mourned his fate

  And wept aloud disconsolate.

  The car-borne chieftain passed the bound

  Of Kośala’s delightful ground,

  Where grain and riches bless the land,

  And people give with liberal hand:

  A lovely realm unvexed by fear,

  Where countless shrines and stakes323 appear:

  Where mango-groves and gardens grow,

  And streams of pleasant water flow:

  Where dwells content a well-fed race,

  And countless kine the meadows grace:

  Filled with the voice of praise and prayer:

  Each hamlet worth a monarch’s care.

  Before him three-pathed Gangá rolled

  Her heavenly waters bright and cold;

  O’er her pure breast no weeds were spread,

  Her banks were hermit-visited.

  The car-borne hero saw the tide

  That ran with eddies multiplied,

  And thus the charioteer addressed:

  “Here on the bank to-day we rest.

  Not distant from the river, see!

  There grows a lofty Ingudí

  With blossoms thick on every spray:

  There rest we, charioteer, to-day.

  I on the queen of floods will gaze,

  Whose holy stream has highest praise,

  Where deer, and bird, and glittering snake,

  God, Daitya, bard their pastime take.”

  Sumantra, Lakshmaṇ gave assent,

  And with the steeds they thither went.

  When Ráma reached the lovely tree,

  With Sítá and with Lakshmaṇ, he

  Alighted from the car: with speed

  Sumantra loosed each weary steed.

  And, hand to hand in reverence laid,

  Stood near to Ráma in the shade.

  Ráma’s dear friend, renowned by fame,

  Who of Nisháda lineage came,

  Guha, the mighty chief, adored

  Through all the land as sovereign lord,

  Soon as he heard that prince renowned

  Was resting on Nisháda ground,

  Begirt by counsellor and peer

  And many an honoured friend drew near.

  Soon as the monarch came in view,

  Ráma and Lakshmaṇ toward him flew.

  Then Guha, at the sight distressed,

  His arms around the hero pressed,

  Laid both his hands upon his head

  Bowed to those lotus feet, and said:

  “O Ráma, make thy wishes known,

  And be this kingdom as thine own.

  Who, mighty-armed, will ever see

  A guest so dear as thou to me?”

  He placed before him dainty fare

  Of every flavour, rich and rare,

  Brought forth the gift for honoured guest,

  And thus again the chief addressed:

  “Welcome, dear Prince, whose arms are strong;

  These lands and all to thee belong.

  Thy servants we, our lord art thou;

  Begin, good king, thine empire now.

  See, various food before thee placed,

  And cups to drink and sweets to taste

  For thee soft beds are hither borne,

  And for thy horses grass and corn.”

  To Guha as he pressed and prayed,

  Thus Raghu’s son his answer made:

  “’Twas aye thy care my heart to please

  With honour, love, and courtesies,

  And friendship brings thee now to greet

  Thy guest thus humbly on thy feet.”

  Again the hero spake, as round

  The king his shapely arms he wound:

  “Guha, I see that all is well

  With thee and those who with thee dwell;

  That health and bliss and wealth attend

  Thy realm, thyself, and every friend.

  But all these friendly gifts of thine,

  Bound to refuse, I must decline.

  Grass, bark, and hide my only wear,

  And woodland roots and fruit my fare,

  On duty all my heart is set;

  I seek the woods, an anchoret.

  A little grass and corn to feed

  The horses — this is all I need.

  So by this favour, King, alone

  Shall honour due to me be shown.

  For these good steeds who brought me here

  Are to my sire supremely dear;

  And kind attention paid to these

  Will honour me and highly please.”

  Then Guha quickly bade his train

  Give water to the steeds, and grain.

  And Ráma, ere the night grew dark,

  Paid evening rites in dress of bark,

  And tasted water, on the strand,

  Drawn from the stream by Lakshmaṇ’s hand.

  And Lakshmaṇ with observance meet

  Bathed his beloved brother’s feet,

  Who rested with his Maithil spouse:

  Then sat him down ‘neath distant boughs.

/>   And Guha with his bow sat near

  To Lakshmaṇ and the charioteer,

  And with the prince conversing kept

  His faithful watch while Ráma slept.

  As Daśaratha’s glorious heir,

  Of lofty soul and wisdom rare,

  Reclining with his Sítá there

  Beside the river lay —

  He who no troubles e’er had seen,

  Whose life a life of bliss had been —

  That night beneath the branches green

  Passed pleasantly away.

  Canto LI. Lakshman’s Lament.

  AS LAKSHMAṆ STILL his vigil held

  By unaffected love impelled,

  Guha, whose heart the sight distressed,

  With words like these the prince addressed:

  “Beloved youth, this pleasant bed

  Was brought for thee, for thee is spread;

  On this, my Prince, thine eyelids close,

  And heal fatigue with sweet repose.

  My men are all to labour trained,

  But hardship thou hast ne’er sustained.

  All we this night our watch will keep

  And guard Kakutstha’s son asleep.

  In all the world there breathes not one

  More dear to me than Raghu’s son.

  The words I speak, heroic youth,

  Are true: I swear it by my truth.

  Through his dear grace supreme renown

  Will, so I trust, my wishes crown.

  So shall my life rich store obtain

  Of merit, blest with joy and gain.

  While Raghu’s son and Sítá lie

  Entranced in happy slumber, I

  Will, with my trusty bow in hand,

  Guard my dear friend with all my band.

  To me, who oft these forests range,

  Is naught therein or new or strange.

  We could with equal might oppose

  A four-fold army led by foes.”

  Then royal Lakshmaṇ made reply:

  “With thee to stand as guardian nigh,

  Whose faithful soul regards the right,

  Fearless we well might rest to-night.

  But how, when Ráma lays his head

  With Sítá on his lowly bed, —

  How can I sleep? how can I care

  For life, or aught that’s bright and fair?

  Behold the conquering chief, whose might

  Is match for Gods and fiends in fight;

  With Sítá now he rests his head

  Asleep on grass beneath him spread.

  Won by devotion, text, and prayer,

  And many a rite performed with care,

  Chief of our father’s sons he shines

  Well marked, like him, with favouring signs.

  Brief, brief the monarch’s life will be

  Now his dear son is forced to flee;

  And quickly will the widowed state

  Mourn for her lord disconsolate.

  Each mourner there has wept her fill;

  The cries of anguish now are still:

  In the king’s hall each dame, o’ercome

  With weariness of woe is dumb.

  This first sad night of grief, I ween,

  Will do to death each sorrowing queen:

  Scarce is Kauśalyá left alive;

  My mother, too, can scarce survive.

  If when her heart is fain to break,

  She lingers for Śatrughna’s sake,

  Kauśalyá, mother of the chief,

  Must sink beneath the chilling grief.

  That town which countless thousands fill,

  Whose hearts with love of Ráma thrill, —

  The world’s delight, so rich and fair, —

  Grieved for the king, his death will share.

  The hopes he fondly cherished, crossed

  Ayodhyá’s throne to Ráma lost, —

  With mournful cries, Too late, too late!

  The king my sire will meet his fate.

  And when my sire has passed away,

  Most happy in their lot are they,

  Allowed, with every pious care,

  Part in his funeral rites to bear.

  And O, may we with joy at last, —

  These years of forest exile past, —

  Turn to Ayodhyá’s town to dwell

  With him who keeps his promise well!”

  While thus the hero mighty-souled,

  In wild lament his sorrow told,

  Faint with the load that on him lay,

  The hours of darkness passed away.

  As thus the prince, impelled by zeal

  For his loved brother, prompt to feel

  Strong yearnings for the people’s weal,

  His words of truth outspake,

  King Guha grieved to see his woe,

  Heart-stricken, gave his tears to flow,

  Tormented by the common blow,

  Sad, as a wounded snake.

  Canto LII. The Crossing Of Gangá.

  SOON AS THE shades of night had fled,

  Uprising from his lowly bed,

  Ráma the famous, broad of chest,

  His brother Lakshmaṇ thus addressed:

  “Now swift upsprings the Lord of Light,

  And fled is venerable night.

  That dark-winged bird the Koïl now

  Is calling from the topmost bough,

  And sounding from the thicket nigh

  Is heard the peacock’s early cry.

  Come, cross the flood that seeks the sea,

  The swiftly flowing Jáhnaví.”324

  King Guha heard his speech, agreed,

  And called his minister with speed:

  “A boat,” he cried, “swift, strong, and fair,

  With rudder, oars, and men, prepare,

  And place it ready by the shore

  To bear the pilgrims quickly o’er.”

  Thus Guha spake: his followers all

  Bestirred them at their master’s call;

  Then told the king that ready manned

  A gay boat waited near the strand.

  Then Guha, hand to hand applied,

  With reverence thus to Ráma cried:

  “The boat is ready by the shore:

  How, tell me, can I aid thee more?

  O lord of men, it waits for thee

  To cross the flood that seeks the sea.

  O godlike keeper of thy vow,

  Embark: the boat is ready now.”

  Then Ráma, lord of glory high,

  Thus to King Guha made reply:

  “Thanks for thy gracious care, my lord:

  Now let the gear be placed on board.”

  Each bow-armed chief, in mail encased,

  Bound sword and quiver to his waist,

  And then with Sítá near them hied

  Down the broad river’s shelving side.

  Then with raised palms the charioteer,

  In lowly reverence drawing near,

  Cried thus to Ráma good and true:

  “Now what remains for me to do?”

  With his right hand, while answering

  The hero touched his friend:

  “Go back,” he said, “and on the king

  With watchful care attend.

  Thus far, Sumantra, thou wast guide;

  Now to Ayodhyá turn,” he cried:

  “Hence seek we leaving steeds and car,

  On foot the wood that stretches far.”

  Sumantra, when, with grieving heart,

  He heard the hero bid him part,

  Thus to the bravest of the brave,

  Ikshváku’s son, his answer gave:

  “In all the world men tell of naught,

  To match thy deed, by heroes wrought —

  Thus with thy brother and thy wife

  Thrall-like to lead a forest life.

  No meet reward of fruit repays

  Thy holy lore, thy saintlike days,

  Thy tender soul, thy love of truth,
/>   If woe like this afflicts thy youth.

  Thou, roaming under forest boughs

  With thy dear brother and thy spouse

  Shalt richer meed of glory gain

  Than if three worlds confessed thy reign.

  Sad is our fate, O Ráma: we,

  Abandoned and repelled by thee,

  Must serve as thralls Kaikeyí’s will,

  Imperious, wicked, born to ill.”

  Thus cried the faithful charioteer,

  As Raghu’s son, in rede his peer,

  Was fast departing on his road, —

  And long his tears of anguish flowed.

  But Ráma, when those tears were dried

  His lips with water purified,

  And in soft accents, sweet and clear,

  Again addressed the charioteer:

  “I find no heart, my friend, like thine,

  So faithful to Ikshváku’s line.

  Still first in view this object keep,

  That ne’er for me my sire may weep.

  For he, the world’s far-ruling king,

  Is old, and wild with sorrow’s sting;

  With love’s great burthen worn and weak:

  Deem this the cause that thus I speak

  Whate’er the high-souled king decrees

  His loved Kaikeyí’s heart to please,

  Yea, be his order what it may,

  Without demur thou must obey,

  For this alone great monarchs reign,

  That ne’er a wish be formed in vain.

  Then, O Sumantra, well provide

  That by no check the king be tried:

  Nor let his heart in sorrow pine:

  This care, my faithful friend, be thine.

  The honoured king my father greet,

  And thus for me my words repeat

  To him whose senses are controlled,

  Untired till now by grief, and old;

  “I, Sítá, Lakshmaṇ sorrow not,

  O Monarch, for our altered lot:

  The same to us, if here we roam,

  Or if Ayodhyá be our home,

  The fourteen years will quickly fly,

  The happy hour will soon be nigh

  When thou, my lord, again shalt see

  Lakshmaṇ, the Maithil dame, and me.”

  Thus having soothed, O charioteer,

  My father and my mother dear,

  Let all the queens my message learn,

  But to Kaikeyí chiefly turn.

  With loving blessings from the three,

  From Lakshmaṇ, Sítá, and from me,

  My mother, Queen Kauśalyá, greet

  With reverence to her sacred feet.

  And add this prayer of mine: “O King;

  Send quickly forth and Bharat bring,

  And set him on the royal throne

  Which thy decree has made his own.

  When he upon the throne is placed,

  When thy fond arms are round him laced,