The Sanskrit Epics

by Delphi Classics

  On high Himálaya melts the snow.

  As, banished from the herd, a bull

  Wanders alone and sorrowful.

  Thus sighing and distressed,

  In misery and bitter grief,

  With fevered heart that mocked relief,

  Distracted in his mind, the chief

  Still mourned and found no rest.

  Canto LXXXVI. Guha’s Speech.

  GUHA THE KING, acquainted well

  With all that in the wood befell,

  To Bharat the unequalled told

  The tale of Lakshmaṇ mighty-souled:

  “With many an earnest word I spake

  To Lakshmaṇ as he stayed awake,

  And with his bow and shaft in hand

  To guard his brother kept his stand:

  “Now sleep a little, Lakshmaṇ, see

  This pleasant bed is strewn for thee:

  Hereon thy weary body lay,

  And strengthen thee with rest, I pray,

  Inured to toil are men like these,

  But thou hast aye been nursed in ease.

  Rest, duteous-minded! I will keep

  My watch while Ráma lies asleep:

  For in the whole wide world is none

  Dearer to me than Raghu’s son.

  Harbour no doubt or jealous fear:

  I speak the truth with heart sincere:

  For from the grace which he has shown

  Will glory on my name be thrown:

  Great store of merit shall I gain,

  And duteous, form no wish in vain.

  Let me enforced by many a row

  Of followers, armed with shaft and bow

  For well-loved Ráma’s weal provide

  Who lies asleep by Sítá’s side.

  For through this wood I often go,

  And all its shades conceal I know:

  And we with conquering arms can meet

  A four-fold host arrayed complete.”

  “With words like these I spoke, designed

  To move the high-souled Bharat’s mind,

  But he upon his duty bent,

  Plied his persuasive argument:

  “O, how can slumber close mine eyes

  When lowly couched with Sítá lies

  The royal Ráma? can I give

  My heart to joy, or even live?

  He whom no mighty demon, no,

  Nor heavenly God can overthrow,

  See, Guha, how he lies, alas,

  With Sítá couched on gathered grass.

  By varied labours, long, severe,

  By many a prayer and rite austere,

  He, Daśaratha’s cherished son,

  By Fortune stamped, from Heaven was won.

  Now as his son is forced to fly,

  The king ere long will surely die:

  Reft of his guardian hand, forlorn

  In widowed grief this land will mourn.

  E’en now perhaps, with toil o’erspent,

  The women cease their loud lament,

  And cries of woe no longer ring

  Throughout the palace of the king.

  But ah for sad Kauśalyá! how

  Fare she and mine own mother now?

  How fares the king? this night, I think,

  Some of the three in death will sink.

  With hopes upon Śatrughna set

  My mother may survive as yet,

  But the sad queen will die who bore

  The hero, for her grief is sore.

  His cherished wish that would have made

  Dear Ráma king, so long delayed,

  “Too late! too late!” the king will cry,

  And conquered by his misery die.

  When Fate has brought the mournful day

  Which sees my father pass away,

  How happy in their lives are they

  Allowed his funeral rites to pay.

  Our exile o’er, with him who ne’er

  Turns from the oath his lips may swear,

  May we returning safe and well

  gain in fair Ayodhyá dwell.”

  Thus Bharat stood with many a sigh

  Lamenting, and the night went by.

  Soon as the morning light shone fair

  In votive coils both bound their hair.

  And then I sent them safely o’er

  And left them on the farther shore.

  With Sítá then they onward passed,

  Their coats of bark about them cast,

  Their locks like hermits’ bound,

  The mighty tamers of the foe,

  Each with his arrows and his bow,

  Went over the rugged ground,

  Proud in their strength and undeterred

  Like elephants that lead the herd,

  And gazing oft around.”

  Canto LXXXVII. Guha’s Story.

  THAT SPEECH OF Guha Bharat heard

  With grief and tender pity stirred,

  And as his ears the story drank,

  Deep in his thoughtful heart it sank.

  His large full eyes in anguish rolled,

  His trembling limbs grew stiff and cold;

  Then fell he, like a tree uptorn,

  In woe too grievous to be borne.

  When Guha saw the long-armed chief

  Whose eye was like a lotus leaf,

  With lion shoulders strong and fair,

  High-mettled, prostrate in despair, —

  Pale, bitterly afflicted, he

  Reeled as in earthquake reels a tree.

  But when Śatrughna standing nigh

  Saw his dear brother helpless lie,

  Distraught with woe his head he bowed,

  Embraced him oft and wept aloud.

  Then Bharat’s mothers came, forlorn

  Of their dear king, with fasting worn,

  And stood with weeping eyes around

  The hero prostrate on the ground.

  Kauśalyá, by her woe oppressed,

  The senseless Bharat’s limbs caressed,

  As a fond cow in love and fear

  Caresses oft her youngling dear:

  Then yielding to her woe she said,

  Weeping and sore disquieted:

  “What torments, O my son, are these

  Of sudden pain or swift disease?

  The lives of us and all the line

  Depend, dear child, on only thine.

  Ráma and Lakshmaṇ forced to flee,

  I live by naught but seeing thee:

  For as the king has past away

  Thou art my only help to-day.

  Hast thou, perchance, heard evil news

  Of Lakshmaṇ, which thy soul subdues,

  Or Ráma dwelling with his spouse —

  My all is he — neath forest boughs?”

  Then slowly gathering sense and strength

  The weeping hero rose at length,

  And words like these to Guha spake,

  That bade Kauśalyá comfort take:

  “Where lodged the prince that night? and where

  Lakshmaṇ the brave, and Sítá fair?

  Show me the couch whereon he lay,

  Tell me the food he ate, I pray.”

  Then Guha the Nishádas’ king

  Replied to Bharat’s questioning:

  “Of all I had I brought the best

  To serve my good and honoured guest

  Food of each varied kind I chose,

  And every fairest fruit that grows.

  Ráma the hero truly brave

  Declined the gift I humbly gave:

  His Warrior part he ne’er forgot,

  And what I brought accepted not:

  “No gifts, my friend, may we accept:

  Our law is, Give, and must be kept.”

  The high-souled chief, O Monarch, thus

  With gracious words persuaded us.

  Then calm and still, absorbed in thought,

  He drank the water Lakshmaṇ brought,

  And then, obedient to his vows,

&
nbsp; He fasted with his gentle spouse.

  So Lakshmaṇ too from food abstained,

  And sipped the water that remained:

  Then with ruled lips, devoutly staid,

  The three362 their evening worship paid.

  Then Lakshmaṇ with unwearied care

  Brought heaps of sacred grass, and there

  With his own hands he quickly spread,

  For Ráma’s rest, a pleasant bed,

  And faithful Sítá’s too, where they

  Reclining each by other lay.

  Then Lakshmaṇ bathed their feet, and drew

  A little distance from the two.

  Here stands the tree which lent them shade,

  Here is the grass beneath it laid,

  Where Ráma and his consort spent

  The night together ere they went.

  Lakshmaṇ, whose arms the foeman quell,

  Watched all the night as sentinel,

  And kept his great bow strung:

  His hand was gloved, his arm was braced,

  Two well-filled quivers at his waist,

  With deadly arrows, hung.

  I took my shafts and trusty bow,

  And with that tamer of the foe

  Stood ever wakeful near,

  And with my followers, bow in hand,

  Behind me ranged, a ready band,

  Kept watch o’er Indra’s peer.”

  Canto LXXXVIII. The Ingudí Tree.

  WHEN BHARAT WITH each friend and peer

  Had heard that tale so full and clear,

  They went together to the tree

  The bed which Ráma pressed to see.

  Then Bharat to his mothers said:

  “Behold the high-souled hero’s bed:

  These tumbled heaps of grass betray

  Where he that night with Sítá lay:

  Unmeet, the heir of fortune high

  Thus on the cold bare earth should lie,

  The monarch’s son, in counsel sage,

  Of old imperial lineage.

  That lion-lord whose noble bed

  With finest skins of deer was spread, —

  How can he now endure to press

  The bare earth, cold and comfortless!

  This sudden fall from bliss to grief

  Appears untrue, beyond belief:

  My senses are distraught: I seem

  To view the fancies of a dream.

  There is no deity so great,

  No power in heaven can master Fate,

  If Ráma, Daśaratha’s heir,

  Lay on the ground and slumbered there;

  And lovely Sítá, she who springs

  From fair Videha’s ancient kings,

  Ráma’s dear wife, by all adored,

  Lay on the earth beside her lord.

  Here was his couch, upon this heap

  He tossed and turned in restless sleep:

  On the hard soil each manly limb

  Has stamped the grass with signs of him.

  That night, it seems, fair Sítá spent

  Arrayed in every ornament,

  For here and there my eyes behold

  Small particles of glistering gold.

  She laid her outer garment here,

  For still some silken threads appear,

  How dear in her devoted eyes

  Must be the bed where Ráma lies,

  Where she so tender could repose

  And by his side forget her woes.

  Alas, unhappy, guilty me!

  For whom the prince was forced to flee,

  And chief of Raghu’s sons and best,

  A bed like this with Sítá pressed.

  Son of a royal sire whose hand

  Ruled paramount o’er every land,

  Could he who every joy bestows,

  Whose body like the lotus shows,

  The friend of all, who charms the sight,

  Whose flashing eyes are darkly bright,

  Leave the dear kingdom, his by right,

  Unmeet for woe, the heir of bliss,

  And lie upon a bed like this?

  Great joy and happy fate are thine,

  O Lakshmaṇ, marked with each fair sign,

  Whose faithful footsteps follow still

  Thy brother in his hour of ill.

  And blest is Sítá, nobly good,

  Who dwells with Ráma in the wood.

  Ours is, alas, a doubtful fate

  Of Ráma reft and desolate.

  My royal sire has gained the skies,

  In woods the high-souled hero lies;

  The state is wrecked and tempest-tossed,

  A vessel with her rudder lost.

  Yet none in secret thought has planned

  With hostile might to seize the land:

  Though forced in distant wilds to dwell,

  The hero’s arm protects it well.

  Unguarded, with deserted wall,

  No elephant or steed in stall,

  My father’s royal city shows

  Her portals open to her foes,

  Of bold protectors reft and bare,

  Defenceless in her dark despair:

  But still her foes the wish restrain,

  As men from poisoned cates refrain.

  I from this hour my nights will pass

  Couched on the earth or gathered grass,

  Eat only fruit and roots, and wear

  A coat of bark, and matted hair.

  I in the woods will pass, content,

  For him the term of banishment;

  So shall I still unbroken save

  The promise which the hero gave.

  While I remain for Ráma there,

  Śatrughna will my exile share,

  And Ráma in his home again,

  With Lakshmaṇ, o’er Ayodhyá reign,

  for him, to rule and guard the state,

  The twice-born men shall consecrate.

  O, may the Gods I serve incline

  To grant this earnest wish of mine!

  If when I bow before his feet

  And with all moving arts entreat,

  He still deny my prayer,

  Then with my brother will I live:

  He must, he must permission give,

  Roaming in forests there.”

  Canto LXXXIX. The Passage Of Gangá.

  THAT NIGHT THE son of Raghu lay

  On Gangá’s bank till break of day:

  Then with the earliest light he woke

  And thus to brave Śatrughna spoke.

  “Rise up, Śatrughna, from thy bed:

  Why sleepest thou the night is fled.

  See how the sun who chases night

  Wakes every lotus with his light.

  Arise, arise, and first of all

  The lord of Śringavera call,

  For he his friendly aid will lend

  Our army o’er the flood to send.”

  Thus urged, Śatrughna answered: “I,

  Remembering Ráma, sleepless lie.”

  As thus the brothers, each to each,

  The lion-mettled, ended speech,

  Came Guha, the Nishádas’ king,

  And spoke with kindly questioning:

  “Hast thou in comfort passed,” he cried,

  “The night upon the river side?

  With thee how fares it? and are these,

  Thy soldiers, healthy and at ease?”

  Thus the Nishádas’ lord inquired

  In gentle words which love inspired,

  And Bharat, Ráma’s faithful slave,

  Thus to the king his answer gave:

  “The night has sweetly passed, and we

  Are highly honoured, King, by thee.

  Now let thy servants boats prepare,

  Our army o’er the stream to bear.”

  The speech of Bharat Guha heard,

  And swift to do his bidding stirred.

  Within the town the monarch sped

  And to his ready kinsmen said:

  “Awake, each kinsman,
rise, each friend!

  May every joy your lives attend.

  Gather each boat upon the shore

  And ferry all the army o’er.”

  Thus Guha spoke: nor they delayed,

  But, rising quick, their lord obeyed,

  And soon, from every side secured,

  Five hundred boats were ready moored.

  Some reared aloft the mystic sign,363

  And mighty bells were hung in line:

  Of firmest build, gay flags they bore,

  And sailors for the helm and oar.

  One such King Guha chose, whereon,

  Of fair white cloth, an awning shone,

  And sweet musicians charmed the ear, —

  And bade his servants urge it near.

  Then Bharat swiftly sprang on board,

  And then Śatrughna, famous lord,

  To whom, with many a royal dame,

  Kauśalyá and Sumitrá came.

  The household priest went first in place,

  The elders, and the Bráhman race,

  And after them the monarch’s train

  Of women borne in many a wain.

  Then high to heaven the shouts of those

  Who fired the army’s huts,364 arose,

  With theirs who bathed along the shore,

  Or to the boats the baggage bore.

  Full freighted with that mighty force

  The boats sped swiftly on their course,

  By royal Guha’s servants manned,

  And gentle gales the banners fanned.

  Some boats a crowd of dames conveyed,

  In others noble coursers neighed;

  Some chariots and their cattle bore,

  Some precious wealth and golden store.

  Across the stream each boat was rowed,

  There duly disembarked its load,

  And then returning on its way,

  Sped here and there in merry play.

  Then swimming elephants appeared

  With flying pennons high upreared.

  And as the drivers urged them o’er,

  The look of winged mountains wore.

  Some men in barges reached the strand,

  Others on rafts came safe to land:

  Some buoyed with pitchers crossed the tide,

  And others on their arms relied.

  Thus with the help the monarch gave

  The army crossed pure Gangá’s wave:

  Then in auspicious hour it stood

  Within Prayága’s famous wood.

  The prince with cheering words addressed

  His weary men, and bade them rest

  Where’er they chose and he,

  With priest and deacon by his side,

  To Bharadvája’s dwelling hied

  That best of saints to see.

  Canto XC. The Hermitage.

  THE PRINCE OF men a league away