Ramayana, Book 2, The

<SPAN name="toc313" id="toc313"></SPAN> <SPAN name="pdf314" id="pdf314"></SPAN> <SPAN name="CantoII-LXXIX" id="CantoII-LXXIX" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <h2 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 2.88em; margin-top: 2.88em"><span style="font-size: 144%">Canto LXXIX. Bharat's Commands.</span></h2> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Now when the sun's returning ray</div> <div>Had ushered in the fourteenth day,</div> <div>The gathered peers of state addressed</div> <div>To Bharat's ear their new request:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Our lord to heaven has parted hence,</span></div> <div>Long served with deepest reverence;</div> <div>Ráma, the eldest, far from home,</div> <div>And Lakshmaṇ, in the forest roam.</div> <div>O Prince, of mighty fame, be thou</div> <div>Our guardian and our monarch now,</div> <div>Lest secret plot or foeman's hate</div> <div>Assail our unprotected state.</div> <div>With longing eyes, O Lord of men,</div> <div>To thee look friend and citizen,</div> <div>And ready is each sacred thing</div> <div>To consecrate our chosen king.</div> <div>Come, Bharat, and accept thine own</div> <div>Ancient hereditary throne.</div> <div>Thee let the priests this day install</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >As monarch to preserve us all.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Around the sacred gear he bent</div> <div>His circling footsteps reverent,</div> <div>And, firm to vows he would not break,</div> <div>Thus to the gathered people spake:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“The eldest son is ever king:</span></div> <div>So rules the house from which we spring:</div> <div>Nor should ye, Lords, like men unwise,</div> <div>With words like these to wrong advise.</div> <div>Ráma is eldest born, and he</div> <div>The ruler of the land shall be.</div> <div>Now to the woods will I repair,</div> <div>Five years and nine to lodge me there.</div> <div>Assemble straight a mighty force,</div> <div>Cars, elephants, and foot and horse,</div> <div>For I will follow on his track</div> <div>And bring my eldest brother back.</div> <div>Whate'er the rites of throning need</div> <div>Placed on a car the way shall lead:</div> <div>The sacred vessels I will take</div> <div>To the wild wood for Ráma's sake.</div> <div>I o'er the lion prince's head</div> <div>The sanctifying balm will shed,</div> <div>And bring him, as the fire they bring</div> <div>Forth from the shrine, with triumphing.</div> <div>Nor will I let my mother's greed</div> <div>In this her cherished aim succeed:</div> <div>In pathless wilds will I remain,</div> <div>And Ráma here as king shall reign.</div> <div>To make the rough ways smooth and clear</div> <div>Send workman out and pioneer:</div> <div>Let skilful men attend beside</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >Our way through pathless spots to guide.”</span></div> <div>As thus the royal Bharat spake,</div> <div>Ordaining all for Ráma's sake,</div> <div>The audience gave with one accord</div> <div>Auspicious answer to their lord:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Be royal Fortune aye benign</span></div> <div>To thee for this good speech of thine,</div> <div>Who wishest still thine elder's hand</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >To rule with kingly sway the land.”</span></div> <div>Their glorious speech, their favouring cries</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">Made his proud bosom swell:</div> <div>And from the prince's noble eyes</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">The tears of rapture fell.<SPAN id="noteref_356" name="noteref_356" href="#note_356"><span class="tei tei-noteref" ><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">356</span></span></SPAN></div> </div> <SPAN name="toc315" id="toc315"></SPAN> <SPAN name="pdf316" id="pdf316"></SPAN> <SPAN name="CantoII-LXXX" id="CantoII-LXXX" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <h2 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 2.88em; margin-top: 2.88em"><span style="font-size: 144%">Canto LXXX. The Way Prepared.</span></h2> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>All they who knew the joiner's art,</div> <div>Or distant ground in every part;</div> <div>Each busied in his several trade,</div> <div>To work machines or ply the spade;</div> <div>Deft workmen skilled to frame the wheel,</div> <div>Or with the ponderous engine deal;</div> <div>Guides of the way, and craftsmen skilled,</div> <div>To sink the well, make bricks, and build;</div> <div>And those whose hands the tree could hew,</div> <div>And work with slips of cut bamboo,</div> <div>Went forward, and to guide them, they</div> <div>Whose eyes before had seen the way.</div> <div>Then onward in triumphant mood</div> <div>Went all the mighty multitude.</div> <div>Like the great sea whose waves leap high</div> <div>When the full moon is in the sky.</div> <div>Then, in his proper duty skilled,</div> <div>Each joined him to his several guild,</div> <div>And onward in advance they went</div> <div>With every tool and implement.</div> <div>Where bush and tangled creeper lay</div> <div>With trenchant steel they made the way;</div> <div>They felled each stump, removed each stone,</div> <div>And many a tree was overthrown.</div> <div>In other spots, on desert lands,</div> <div>Tall trees were reared by busy hands.</div> <div>Where'er the line of road they took,</div> <div>They plied the hatchet, axe, and hook.</div> <span class="tei tei-pb" id="page189"></span><SPAN name="Pg189" id="Pg189" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <div>Others, with all their strength applied,</div> <div>Cast vigorous plants and shrubs aside,</div> <div>In shelving valleys rooted deep,</div> <div>And levelled every dale and steep.</div> <div>Each pit and hole that stopped the way</div> <div>They filled with stones, and mud, and clay,</div> <div>And all the ground that rose and fell</div> <div>With busy care was levelled well.</div> <div>They bridged ravines with ceaseless toil,</div> <div>And pounded fine the flinty soil.</div> <div>Now here, now there, to right and left,</div> <div>A passage through the ground they cleft,</div> <div>And soon the rushing flood was led</div> <div>Abundant through the new-cut bed,</div> <div>Which by the running stream supplied</div> <div>With ocean's boundless waters vied.</div> <div>In dry and thirsty spots they sank</div> <div>Full many a well and ample tank,</div> <div>And altars round about them placed</div> <div>To deck the station in the waste.</div> <div>With well-wrought plaster smoothly spread,</div> <div>With bloomy trees that rose o'erhead,</div> <div>With banners waving in the air,</div> <div>And wild birds singing here and there,</div> <div>With fragrant sandal-water wet,</div> <div>With many a flower beside it set,</div> <div>Like the Gods' heavenly pathway showed</div> <div>That mighty host's imperial road.</div> <div>Deft workmen, chosen for their skill</div> <div>To do the high-souled Bharat's will,</div> <div>In every pleasant spot where grew</div> <div>Trees of sweet fruit and fair to view,</div> <div>As he commanded, toiled to grace</div> <div>With all delights his camping-place.</div> <div>And they who read the stars, and well</div> <div>Each lucky sign and hour could tell,</div> <div>Raised carefully the tented shade</div> <div>Wherein high-minded Bharat stayed.</div> <div>With ample space of level ground,</div> <div>With broad deep moat encompassed round;</div> <div>Like Mandar in his towering pride,</div> <div>With streets that ran from side to side;</div> <div>Enwreathed with many a palace tall</div> <div>Surrounded by its noble wall;</div> <div>With roads by skilful workmen made,</div> <div>Where many a glorious banner played;</div> <div>With stately mansions, where the dove</div> <div>Sat nestling in her cote above.</div> <div>Rising aloft supremely fair</div> <div>Like heavenly cars that float in air,</div> <div>Each camp in beauty and in bliss</div> <div>Matched Indra's own metropolis.</div> <div>As shines the heaven on some fair night,</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">With moon and constellations filled,</div> <div>The prince's royal road was bright,</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">Adorned by art of workmen skilled.</div> </div> <SPAN name="toc317" id="toc317"></SPAN> <SPAN name="pdf318" id="pdf318"></SPAN> <SPAN name="CantoII-LXXXI" id="CantoII-LXXXI" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <h2 class="tei tei-head" style="text-align: left; margin-bottom: 2.88em; margin-top: 2.88em"><span style="font-size: 144%">Canto LXXXI. The Assembly.</span></h2> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Ere yet the dawn had ushered in</div> <div>The day should see the march begin,</div> <div>Herald and bard who rightly knew</div> <div>Each nice degree of honour due,</div> <div>Their loud auspicious voices raised,</div> <div>And royal Bharat blessed and praised.</div> <div>With sticks of gold the drum they smote,</div> <div>Which thundered out its deafening note,</div> <div>Blew loud the sounding shell, and blent</div> <div>Each high and low-toned instrument.</div> <div>The mingled sound of drum and horn</div> <div>Through all the air was quickly borne,</div> <div>And as in Bharat's ear it rang,</div> <div>Gave the sad prince another pang.</div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Then Bharat, starting from repose,</div> <div>Stilled the glad sounds that round him rose,</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“I am not king; no more mistake:”</span></div> <div>Then to Śatrughna thus he spake:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“O see what general wrongs succeed</span></div> <div>Sprung from Kaikeyí's evil deed!</div> <div>The king my sire has died and thrown</div> <div>Fresh miseries on me alone.</div> <div>The royal bliss, on duty based,</div> <div>Which our just high-souled father graced,</div> <div>Wanders in doubt and sore distress</div> <div>Like a tossed vessel rudderless.</div> <div>And he who was our lordly stay</div> <div>Roams in the forest far away,</div> <div>Expelled by this my mother, who</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >To duty's law is most untrue.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>As royal Bharat thus gave vent</div> <div>To bitter grief in wild lament,</div> <div>Gazing upon his face the crowd</div> <div>Of pitying women wept aloud.</div> <div>His lamentation scarce was o'er,</div> <div>When Saint Vaśishṭha, skilled in lore</div> <div>Of royal duty, dear to fame,</div> <div>To join the great assembly came.</div> <div>Girt by disciples ever true</div> <div>Still nearer to that hall he drew,</div> <div>Resplendent, heavenly to behold,</div> <div>Adorned with wealth of gems and gold:</div> <div>E'en so a man in duty tried</div> <div>Draws near to meet his virtuous bride.</div> <div>He reached his golden seat o'erlaid</div> <div>With coverlet of rich brocade,</div> <div>There sat, in all the Vedas read,</div> <div>And called the messengers, and said:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Go forth, let Bráhman, Warrior, peer,</span></div> <div>And every captain gather here:</div> <div>Let all attentive hither throng:</div> <div>Go, hasten: we delay too long.</div> <div>Śatrughna, glorious Bharat bring,</div> <div>The noble children of the king,<SPAN id="noteref_357" name="noteref_357" href="#note_357"><span class="tei tei-noteref" ><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">357</span></span></SPAN></div> <span class="tei tei-pb" id="page190"></span><SPAN name="Pg190" id="Pg190" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <div>Yudhájit<SPAN id="noteref_358" name="noteref_358" href="#note_358"><span class="tei tei-noteref" ><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">358</span></span></SPAN> and Sumantra, all</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >The truthful and the virtuous call.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>He ended: soon a mighty sound</div> <div>Of thickening tumult rose around,</div> <div>As to the hall they bent their course</div> <div>With car, and elephant, and horse,</div> <div>The people all with glad acclaim</div> <div>Welcomed Prince Bharat as he came:</div> <div>E'en as they loved their king to greet,</div> <div>Or as the Gods Lord Indra<SPAN id="noteref_359" name="noteref_359" href="#note_359"><span class="tei tei-noteref" ><span style="font-size: 60%; vertical-align: super">359</span></span></SPAN> meet.</div> <div>The vast assembly shone as fair</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">With Bharat's kingly face</div> <div>As Daśaratha's self were there</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">To glorify the place.</div> <div>It gleamed like some unruffled lake</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">Where monsters huge of mould</div> <div>With many a snake their pastime take</div> <div class="tei tei-l" style="text-align: left; margin-left: 4.00em">O'er shells, sand, gems, and gold.</div> </div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />