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The Sanskrit Epics

Page 63

by Delphi Classics


  With gathering birds that twitter round:

  They sought their food by day, and all

  Flock homeward when the shadows fall.

  See, hither comes the hermit band,

  Each with his pitcher in his hand:

  Fresh from the bath, their locks are wet,

  Their coats of bark are dripping yet.

  Here saints their fires of worship tend,

  And curling wreaths of smoke ascend:

  Borne on the flames they mount above,

  Dark as the brown wings of the dove.

  The distant trees, though well-nigh bare,

  Gloom thickened by the evening air,

  And in the faint uncertain light

  Shut the horizon from our sight.

  The beasts that prowl in darkness rove

  On every side about the grove,

  And the tame deer, at ease reclined

  Their shelter near the altars find.

  The night o’er all the sky is spread,

  With lunar stars engarlanded,

  And risen in his robes of light

  The moon is beautifully bright.

  Now to thy lord I bid thee go:

  Thy pleasant tale has charmed me so:

  One thing alone I needs must pray,

  Before me first thyself array:

  Here in thy heavenly raiment shine,

  And glad, dear love, these eyes of mine.”

  Then like a heavenly Goddess shone

  Fair Sítá with that raiment on.

  She bowed her to the matron’s feet,

  Then turned away her lord to meet.

  The hero prince with joy surveyed

  His Sítá in her robes arrayed,

  As glorious to his arms she came

  With love-gifts of the saintly dame.

  She told him how the saint to show

  Her fond affection would bestow

  That garland of celestial twine,

  Those ornaments and robes divine.

  Then Ráma’s heart, nor Lakshmaṇ’s less,

  Was filled with pride and happiness,

  For honours high had Sítá gained,

  Which mortal dames have scarce obtained.

  There honoured by each pious sage

  Who dwelt within the hermitage,

  Beside his darling well content

  That sacred night the hero spent.

  The princes, when the night had fled,

  Farewell to all the hermits said,

  Who gazed upon the distant shade,

  Their lustral rites and offerings paid.

  The saints who made their dwelling there

  In words like these addressed the pair:

  “O Princes, monsters fierce and fell

  Around that distant forest dwell:

  On blood from human veins they feed,

  And various forms assume at need,

  With savage beasts of fearful power

  That human flesh and blood devour.

  Our holy saints they rend and tear

  When met alone or unaware,

  And eat them in their cruel joy:

  These chase, O Ráma, or destroy.

  By this one path our hermits go

  To fetch the fruits that yonder grow:

  By this, O Prince, thy feet should stray

  Through pathless forests far away.”

  Thus by the reverent saints addressed,

  And by their prayers auspicious blessed,

  He left the holy crowd:

  His wife and brother by his side,

  Within the mighty wood he hied.

  So sinks the Day-God in his pride

  Beneath a bank of cloud.

  BOOK III.

  Canto I. The Hermitage.

  WHEN RÁMA, VALIANT hero, stood

  In the vast shade of Daṇḍak wood,

  His eyes on every side he bent

  And saw a hermit settlement,

  Where coats of bark were hung around,

  And holy grass bestrewed the ground.

  Bright with Bráhmanic lustre glowed

  That circle where the saints abode:

  Like the hot sun in heaven it shone,

  Too dazzling to be looked upon.

  Wild creatures found a refuge where

  The court, well-swept, was bright and fair,

  And countless birds and roedeer made

  Their dwelling in the friendly shade.

  Beneath the boughs of well-loved trees

  Oft danced the gay Apsarases.401

  Around was many an ample shed

  Wherein the holy fire was fed;

  With sacred grass and skins of deer,

  Ladles and sacrificial gear,

  And roots and fruit, and wood to burn,

  And many a brimming water-urn.

  Tall trees their hallowed branches spread,

  Laden with pleasant fruit, o’erhead;

  And gifts which holy laws require,402

  And solemn offerings burnt with fire,403

  And Veda chants on every side

  That home of hermits sanctified.

  There many a flower its odour shed,

  And lotus blooms the lake o’erspred.

  There, clad in coats of bark and hide, —

  Their food by roots and fruit supplied, —

  Dwelt many an old and reverend sire

  Bright as the sun or Lord of Fire,

  All with each worldly sense subdued,

  A pure and saintly multitude.

  The Veda chants, the saints who trod

  The sacred ground and mused on God,

  Made that delightful grove appear

  Like Brahmá’s own most glorious sphere.

  As Raghu’s splendid son surveyed

  That hermit home and tranquil shade,

  He loosed his mighty bow-string, then

  Drew nearer to the holy men.

  With keen celestial sight endued

  Those mighty saints the chieftain viewed,

  With joy to meet the prince they came,

  And gentle Sítá dear to fame.

  They looked on virtuous Ráma, fair

  As Soma404 in the evening air,

  And Lakshmaṇ by his brother’s side,

  And Sítá long in duty tried,

  And with glad blessings every sage

  Received them in the hermitage.

  Then Ráma’s form and stature tall

  Entranced the wondering eyes of all, —

  His youthful grace, his strength of limb,

  And garb that nobly sat on him.

  To Lakshmaṇ too their looks they raised,

  And upon Sítá’s beauty gazed

  With eyes that closed not lest their sight

  Should miss the vision of delight.

  Then the pure hermits of the wood,

  Rejoicing in all creatures’ good,

  Their guest, the glorious Ráma, led

  Within a cot with leaves o’erhead.

  With highest honour all the best

  Of radiant saints received their guest,

  With kind observance, as is meet,

  And gave him water for his feet.

  To highest pitch of rapture wrought

  Their stores of roots and fruit they brought.

  They poured their blessings on his head,

  And “All we have is thine,” they said.

  Then, reverent hand to hand applied,405

  Each duty-loving hermit cried:

  “The king is our protector, bright

  In fame, maintainer of the right.

  He bears the awful sword, and hence

  Deserves an elder’s reverence.

  One fourth of Indra’s essence, he

  Preserves his realm from danger free,

  Hence honoured by the world of right

  The king enjoys each choice delight.

  Thou shouldst to us protection give,

  For in thy realm, dear lord, we live:

&
nbsp; Whether in town or wood thou be,

  Thou art our king, thy people we.

  Our wordly aims are laid aside,

  Our hearts are tamed and purified.

  To thee our guardian, we who earn

  Our only wealth by penance turn.”

  Then the pure dwellers in the shade

  To Raghu’s son due honour paid,

  And Lakshmaṇ, bringing store of roots,

  And many a flower, and woodland fruits.

  And others strove the prince to please

  With all attentive courtesies.

  Canto II. Virádha.

  THUS ENTERTAINED HE passed the night,

  Then, with the morning’s early light,

  To all the hermits bade adieu

  And sought his onward way anew.

  He pierced the mighty forest where

  Roamed many a deer and pard and bear:

  Its ruined pools he scarce could see.

  For creeper rent and prostrate tree,

  Where shrill cicada’s cries were heard,

  And plaintive notes of many a bird.

  Deep in the thickets of the wood

  With Lakshmaṇ and his spouse he stood,

  There in the horrid shade he saw

  A giant passing nature’s law:

  Vast as some mountain-peak in size,

  With mighty voice and sunken eyes,

  Huge, hideous, tall, with monstrous face,

  Most ghastly of his giant race.

  A tiger’s hide the Rákshas wore

  Still reeking with the fat and gore:

  Huge-faced, like Him who rules the dead,

  All living things he struck with dread.

  Three lions, tigers four, ten deer

  He carried on his iron spear,

  Two wolves, an elephant’s head beside

  With mighty tusks which blood-drops dyed.

  When on the three his fierce eye fell,

  He charged them with a roar and yell

  As furious as the grisly King

  When stricken worlds are perishing.

  Then with a mighty roar that shook

  The earth beneath their feet, he took

  The trembling Sítá to his side.

  Withdrew a little space, and cried:

  “Ha, short lived wretches, ye who dare,

  In hermit dress with matted hair,

  Armed each with arrows, sword, and bow,

  Through Daṇḍak’s pathless wood to go:

  How with one dame, I bid you tell,

  Can you among ascetics dwell?

  Who are ye, sinners, who despise

  The right, in holy men’s disguise?

  The great Virádha, day by day

  Through this deep-tangled wood I stray,

  And ever, armed with trusty steel,

  I seize a saint to make my meal.

  This woman young and fair of frame

  Shall be the conquering giant’s dame:

  Your blood, ye things of evil life,

  My lips shall quaff in battle strife.”

  He spoke: and Janak’s hapless child,

  Scared by his speech so fierce and wild,

  Trembled for terror, as a frail

  Young plantain shivers in the gale.

  When Ráma saw Virádha clasp

  Fair Sítá in his mighty grasp,

  Thus with pale lips that terror dried

  The hero to his brother cried:

  “O see Virádha’s arm enfold

  My darling in its cursed hold, —

  The child of Janak best of kings,

  My spouse whose soul to virtue clings,

  Sweet princess, with pure glory bright,

  Nursed in the lap of soft delight.

  Now falls the blow Kaikeyí meant,

  Successful in her dark intent:

  This day her cruel soul will be

  Triumphant over thee and me.

  Though Bharat on the throne is set,

  Her greedy eyes look farther yet:

  Me from my home she dared expel,

  Me whom all creatures loved so well.

  This fatal day at length, I ween,

  Brings triumph to the younger queen.

  I see with bitterest grief and shame

  Another touch the Maithil dame.

  Not loss of sire and royal power

  So grieves me as this mournful hour.”

  Thus in his anguish cried the chief:

  Then drowned in tears, o’erwhelmed by grief,

  Thus Lakshmaṇ in his anger spake,

  Quick panting like a spell-bound snake:

  “Canst thou, my brother, Indra’s peer,

  When I thy minister am near,

  Thus grieve like some forsaken thing,

  Thou, every creature’s lord and king?

  My vengeful shaft the fiend shall slay,

  And earth shall drink his blood to-day.

  The fury which my soul at first

  Upon usurping Bharat nursed,

  On this Virádha will I wreak

  As Indra splits the mountain peak.

  Winged by this arm’s impetuous might

  My shaft with deadly force

  The monster in the chest shall smite,

  And fell his shattered corse.”

  Canto III. Virádha Attacked.

  VIRÁDHA WITH A fearful shout

  That echoed through the wood, cried out:

  “What men are ye, I bid you say,

  And whither would ye bend your way?”

  To him whose mouth shot fiery flame

  The hero told his race and name:

  “Two Warriors, nobly bred, are we,

  And through this wood we wander free.

  But who art thou, how born and styled,

  Who roamest here in Daṇḍak’s wild?”

  To Ráma, bravest of the brave,

  His answer thus Virádha gave:

  “Hear, Raghu’s son, and mark me well,

  And I my name and race will tell.

  Of Śatahradá born, I spring

  From Java as my sire, O King:

  Me, of this lofty lineage, all

  Giants on earth Virádha call.

  The rites austere I long maintained

  From Brahmá’s grace the boon have gained

  To bear a charmed frame which ne’er

  Weapon or shaft may pierce or tear.

  Go as ye came, untouched by fear,

  And leave with me this woman here:

  Go, swiftly from my presence fly,

  Or by this hand ye both shall die.”

  Then Ráma with his fierce eyes red

  With fury to the giant said:

  “Woe to thee, sinner, fond and weak,

  Who madly thus thy death wilt seek!

  Stand, for it waits thee in the fray:

  With life thou ne’er shalt flee away.”

  He spoke, and raised the cord whereon

  A pointed arrow flashed and shone,

  Then, wild with anger, from his bow,

  He launched the weapon on the foe.

  Seven times the fatal cord he drew,

  And forth seven rapid arrows flew,

  Shafts winged with gold that left the wind

  And e’en Suparṇa’s406 self behind.

  Full on the giant’s breast they smote,

  And purpled like the peacock’s throat,

  Passed through his mighty bulk and came

  To earth again like flakes of flame.

  The fiend the Maithil dame unclasped;

  In his fierce hand his spear he grasped,

  And wild with rage, pierced through and through,

  At Ráma and his brother flew.

  So loud the roar which chilled with fear,

  So massy was the monster’s spear,

  He seemed, like Indra’s flagstaff, dread

  As the dark God who rules the dead.

  On huge Virádha fierce as He407

  Who smites, and
worlds have ceased to be,

  The princely brothers poured amain

  Their fiery flood of arrowy rain.

  Unmoved he stood, and opening wide

  His dire mouth laughed unterrified,

  And ever as the monster gaped

  Those arrows from his jaws escaped.

  Preserving still his life unharmed,

  By Brahmá’s saving promise charmed,

  His mighty spear aloft in air

  He raised, and rushed upon the pair.

  From Ráma’s bow two arrows flew

  And cleft that massive spear in two,

  Dire as the flaming levin sent

  From out the cloudy firmament.

  Cut by the shafts he guided well

  To earth the giant’s weapon fell:

  As when from Meru’s summit, riven

  By fiery bolts, a rock is driven.

  Then swift his sword each warrior drew,

  Like a dread serpent black of hue,

  And gathering fury for the blow

  Rushed fiercely on the giant foe.

  Around each prince an arm he cast,

  And held the dauntless heroes fast:

  Then, though his gashes gaped and bled,

  Bearing the twain he turned and fled.

  Then Ráma saw the giant’s plan,

  And to his brother thus began:

  “O Lakshmaṇ, let Virádha still

  Hurry us onward as he will,

  For look, Sumitrá’s son, he goes

  Along the path we freely chose.”

  He spoke: the rover of the night

  Upraised them with terrific might,

  Till, to his lofty shoulders swung,

  Like children to his neck they clung.

  Then sending far his fearful roar,

  The princes through the wood he bore, —

  A wood like some vast cloud to view,

  Where birds of every plumage flew,

  And mighty trees o’erarching threw

  Dark shadows on the ground;

  Where snakes and silvan creatures made

  Their dwelling, and the jackal strayed

  Through tangled brakes around.

  Canto IV. Virádha’s Death.

  BUT SÍTÁ VIEWED with wild affright

  The heroes hurried from her sight.

  She tossed her shapely arms on high,

  And shrieked aloud her bitter cry:

  “Ah, the dread giant bears away

  The princely Ráma as his prey,

  Truthful and pure, and good and great,

  And Lakshmaṇ shares his brother’s fate.

  The brindled tiger and the bear

  My mangled limbs for food will tear.

  Take me, O best of giants, me,

  And leave the sons of Raghu free.”

  Then, by avenging fury spurred,

 

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