Raghava

“ And Bibhishana the lord of Rākshasas took up another Chowrie resembling the moon. And the wind commanded by Vāsava conferred upon Rāghava, a garland of a hundred golden lotuses, shining in their native lustre. And the wind commanded by Sakra conferred upon that lord of men a jewelled garland crested with diverse gems. The intelligent and worthy Rāma being installed the celestials and the Gandharvas sang and the Apsaras danced. The earth was filled with crops, the trees with fruits and the flowers were fragrant on the occassion of Rāghava's installation. ”

“ The strong Rāghava will compass the end of what remains of thy life. Like the life of a beast tied to the sacrificial stake, thy own is incapable of being reclaimed, Should Rāma look at thee with eyes aglow with anger, thou, O Rākshasa, wouldst be consumed even as Manmatha was by Rudra. He who is able to bring down the Moon or destroy him, and to drink up the ocean dry, will surely liberate Sitā from here. Thy days are numbered, and auspiciousness hath bidden thee adieu. Thou art shorn of strength, and thy senses have been dulled. ”

“ Rāghava, O king, is a mortal and Sugriva is the lord of monkeys. How canst thou, O king, save thy life from them? He that, confiding in his strength, committeth himself to foul proceedings, cannot count upon his righteous deeds, but his evil ones follow him. Virtue destroyeth vice, (yet vice like thine destroyeth all virtue) .405 Thou, without doubt, hast obtained the fruit of thy righteousness, and the fruit also of this iniquity thou shalt reap without delay. ”

“ Hearing these words of the wicked Rāvana, Sitā, growing exceeding wroth, spoke these excellent words,—"O worst of Rākshasas, having used improper speech towards the wife of Rāma of measureless prowess, and the daughter-in-law of Daçaratha, lord of the Ikshwāku line, why hast thou not thy tongue fallen off? Fie upon the prowess of thee that, O wretch, hast carried me off while my husband was away; and not being seen of that high-souled one. Thou art never like Rāma,—thou art not even fit to be his slave. Rāghava is invincible, truthful, heroic and (even) hungering for warfare." ”

“ Rāghava doth not take meat nor drink honey—he takes every day in the evening boiled rice and such wild fruits as are sanctioned by the Sastras. His heart is so much attached unto thee, that he does not drive away even flies, insects and snakes from his body. Rāma is always engaged in meditations, overwhelmed with grief, and he has no other thought but seeing thee. Rāma hath no sleep and even when asleep that best of men awakes exclaiming in sweet accents, 'O Sitā!'. He always welcomes thee sighing and saying "O my dear love!" ”

“ And hearing about thee from me soon shall Rāghava come assisted by a large army of monkeys and bears. And impeding the course of the unagitated deep and building, by means of his terrible shafts, a bridge across it, Kākuthstha, shall divest the city Lankā of all the Rākshasas. And forsooth shall Rāma destroy them, even if the celestials, or Death himself stand in his way. O worshipful dame, stricken with grief in thy absence, Rāma is restless like unto an elephant smitten by a lion. ”

“ Thou shalt meet with thy well-being if dost thou in this wise confer me on that best of Raghus. And mighty is the disaster that shall befall thee, if dost thou follow any other procedure. Thunderbolt, even, when hurled, may leave thee, Death himself may overlook thee—but there is no safety for thee, if Rāghava. the lord of men is enraged. Thou shalt hear the terrible sound of the twang of Rāma's bow, like unto the sound of the thunderbolt hurled by Indra. Soon shall arrows, bearing the names of Rāma and Lakshmana and having fiery heads like those of snakes, alight here. ”

“ On the side of the hill is the way by which long-tusked elephants pass to and fro with vehemence, roaring at each other. Here is seen the dense and dark smoke of that which the anchorets are ever anxious to preserve in the forest—fire. Even here shall I with a delighted heart see that foremost of men, the noble Rāghava resembling a Maharshi, ever engaged in serving his superiors." Then going to Chitrakuta, that descendant of Raghu, coming to the Mandākini, said unto the men, "That foremost of men in all the world, the lord of all, coming into seclusion, is in his yoga posture. ”

“ She ever thinketh of the period of the promise. 'When shall I behold Sitā and Lakshmana with Rāghava?'" As she was thus lamenting, the Rakshasi, Trijata, said,—"O exalted lady, do not weep thus. Thy lord liveth. And, O dignified one, I shall unfold unto thee potent and probable reasons why the brothers Rāma and Lakshmana live. When their leader falleth, the countenances of the warriors in battle are not overspread with passion, or display cheerfulness and vivacity. And, O Vaidehi, if those had lost their lives, this celestial chariot, named Pushpaka, would not have held thee. ”

“ By doing her bidding thou wilt not lose the state of the righteous. O Rāghava, by acting as Bharata, who is soliciting thee, says, thou having the morality of truth for thy prowess, wilt not be frustrated of the state of the pious." Thus sweetly addressed by his preceptor personally, that foremost of men, Rāghava, replied unto Vasishtha, seated with him, saying, "What his father and mother always do in behalf of their son, and what they effect by way of provision and sleep and clothing and constant swest speech, and sport, is difficult of being repaid. ”

“ When Guha had said this, Rāghava answered him, saying,—"We have been well received by thee and are well pleased with thee, since coming here on foot thou hast shown us affection." Then pressing Guha hard with his arms, Rāma said, "O Guha, it is by good luck that I see thee whole along with thy friends. Is thy kingdom in peace both as regards thy friends and the forest? The things that thou hast presented me with out of love I accept but cannot enjoy. Do thou know me as assuming an ascetic mode of life in the woods, in which I am to wear Kuça and bark and live upon fruits and roots. ”

“ And raising up the monkey-king who had bent his head at Rāma's feet, Rāghava embraced him from love and regard. Having embraced Sugriva, that righteous one said unto him, "Be seated." And seeing Sugriva seated on the ground, Rāma said, "He, O best of monkeys, is a king who, O hero, in season follows righteousness, pleasure and profit, always dividing the same (among all.) He that, renouncing righteousness and the good, devotes himself to pleasure solely, is like a man that falling asleep on the top of a tree, wakes when he hath fallen down. ”

“ Hearing those words the highly powerful Rāghava, in the presence of Lakshmana, gave vent to the following accents out of affection—"All these monkeys and bears have brought about the accomplishment of my work with great care. Do thou, satisfy them, O Bibhishana, with diverse jewels and riches. With these and thee, I conquered the city of Lankā, lord of Rākshasas. They all fought with a delighted heart, having renounced all fear of life and who did never go away from the battle-field. ”

“ The high-souled Rāghava hath done us good. If we can serve him in turn, our life shall be crowned with success. Even the life of him that accomplishes the work of one to whom the former is not obliged, is successful,—what then is to be said in respect of him that hath served one formerly? Pondering this, those that are engaged in our welfare, should so act that Jānaki may be discovered. And this formemost of men is worthy of being honored by all creatures; and Rāma—captor of hostile capitals—hath also found delight in us. ”

“ As Rāghava, influenced by anger, said this in the field, Khara from wrath, with accents rendered harsher, fell to censuring (Rāma) . "Thou art wondrous proud: and thou art fearless albeit fear is present unto thee. And come under the sway of death, thou dost not understand what should be said and what left unspoken. Those persons that have been fast bound by the noose of death, do not in consequence of their senses having ceased to perform their functions, descern what is proper and what improper." ”

“ And thou being dead, what is my life worth?" When the high-souled Rāghava had spoken thus, Lakshmana, aggrieved on account of the words (of Rāghava) expressive of infirmity of purpose, said,—"Having bound thyself by that vow, it doth not, O thou having truth for prowess, behove thee to speak like one fickle and feeble. Those speaking the truth, never falsify their promise: the mark of a great one is even observance of vow. O sinless one, do not suffer thyself to be overcome by despair on my account. Do thou to-day by slaying Rāvana, make thy promise good. ”

“ And being pleased, Mahadeva addressed them, saying,—"For your welfare there will be born a woman who shall be the cause of the destruction of the Rākshasas". As hunger, being engaged by the celestials, did destroy in olden time, all the Dānavas, so shall she (Sitā) the root of the extinction of Rākshasa race destroy us all with Rāvana. Alas! for the foolishness of the vicious-minded and insolent Rāvana destruction has faced us and we are overwhelmed with grief. We do not see any such being in the world who can afford us shelter. Rāghava has attacked us like unto the fire of dissolution. ”

“ Let us in this wise decoy Rāma and Lakshmana; and if they fall into our design, they shall, without doubt, lose their lives". Then that hero, Kumbhakarna's son, named Nikumbha, endowed with exceeding prowess, in high wrath remarked unto Rāvana, destroyer of worlds,—"Do ye, all of you, stay here along with the great king. I alone shall slay Rāghava together with Lakshmana, and Sugriva with Hanumān, and all the monkeys". ”

“ His armpit, belly, breast, nose, shoulders and forehead are high; his fingers, hairs, down, nails, skin, beard, eye-sight and intellect are thin and sharp. Rāghava, with a due division of his time is engaged in acquiring piety, wealth emancipation and desires. He is truthful and graceful, amasses wealth and thereby protects his subjects. ”

“ But the wood-ranging monkeys have not transgressed anywise unto the like of us. That species is the ornament of the gardens attached to our residences. The cause of the seige of the city is Rāghava along with Lakshmana. He being slain, all are slain. Therefore shall I slay him in battle". As the Raksha—Kumbhakarna—was speaking thus, the Rākshasas sent up terrific shouts, as if making the very sea shake. As the intelligent Kumbhakarna sallied out speedily, dreadful were the omens that presented themselves on all sides. ”

“ I shall slay in battle Rāghava and Lakshmana and the exceedingly powerful Sugriva and the Raksha-destroying Hanumān, who made Lankā blaze. I shall eat up the monkeys present in the encounter. And signal is the celebrity that I shall confer on thee. And, O king, if thy fear springs from Indra or the Self-create, even the immortals shall measure their lengths on the earth when I am wrought with rage. And I shall subdue Yama himself and devour the God of Fire. And I shall bring down the very welkin garnished with stars. And I shall slay Satakratu and drink up the abode itself214 of Varuna. ”

“ Thereupon the heroic Rāghava, conversant with the use of all weapons, the enhancer of Kauçalyi's joy, began to reason within himself in various Ways,—"Verily these are the arrows by which Māricha was killed, and Khara with Dushana was slain—Viradha was destroyed in the forest of Krauncha—the headless demon in the forest of Dandaka—Salas and mountains were broken—the ocean was agitated—and Vāli was killed;—I do not perceive the reason, why they are becoming fruitless when discharged at Rāvana". ”

“ Whether living in the city or in the woods, thou, lord of men, art our sovereign. We have renounced chastising others; and, O monarch, we have conquered our anger, and subdued our passions. Therefore, even as a child in its mother's womb (should be protected by her) , should we be protected by thee." Having said this, they entertained Rāghava, along with Lakshmana, with fruits and roots and flowers and diverse other edibles procurable in the woods. In the same way, other ascetics of accomplished purposes, living lives of integrity, duly pleased that lord, Rāma, resembling Vaiçyānara. ”

“ Kálidása (Raghuvans'a, XII. 17.) says that they were to be ahidevate or guardian deities of the kingdom.↑ Jatáyu, a semi-divine bird, the friend of Ráma, who fought in defence of Sitá.↑ Raghu was one of the most celebrated ancestors of Ráma whose commonest appellation is, therefore, Rághava or descendant of Raghu. Kálidása in the Raghuvans'a makes him the son of Dilipa and great-grandfather of Ráma. See Idylls from the Sanskrit, 'Aja' and 'Dilipa'.↑ Dundhubi.↑ Literally ten yojanas. ”

“ Having said this and weeping, the king said to his wife, "I shall renounce life through grief for my son. And I shall no more behold thee with my eyes. Do thou, O Kauçalyā, touch me. People going to the mansion of Yama no more behold (their friends) . If Rāma touch me directly or otherwise, obtain the exchequer, and be installed as the heir-apparent, meseems, I may yet live. O noble lady, what I have done unto Rāghava is not surely like myself; but what (on the other hand) he has done by me is worthy of him. What sensible man forsaketh his son, albeit he may be wicked? ”