Ramayana, Book 2, The

<SPAN name="toc391" id="toc391"></SPAN> <SPAN name="pdf392" id="pdf392"></SPAN> <SPAN name="CantoII-CXVIII" id="CantoII-CXVIII" 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 CXVIII. Anasúyá's Gifts.</span></h2> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Thus by the holy dame addressed</div> <div>Who banished envy from her breast,</div> <div>Her lowly reverence Sítá paid,</div> <div>And softly thus her answer made:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“No marvel, best of dames, thy speech</span></div> <div>The duties of a wife should teach;</div> <span class="tei tei-pb" id="page227"></span><SPAN name="Pg227" id="Pg227" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <div>Yet I, O lady, also know</div> <div>Due reverence to my lord to show.</div> <div>Were he the meanest of the base,</div> <div>Unhonoured with a single grace,</div> <div>My husband still I ne'er would leave,</div> <div>But firm through all to him would cleave:</div> <div>Still rather to a lord like mine</div> <div>Whose virtues high-exalted shine,</div> <div>Compassionate, of lofty soul,</div> <div>With every sense in due control,</div> <div>True in his love, of righteous mind,</div> <div>Like a dear sire and mother kind.</div> <div>E'en as he ever loves to treat</div> <div>Kauśalyá with observance meet,</div> <div>Has his behaviour ever been</div> <div>To every other honoured queen.</div> <div>Nay, more, a sonlike reverence shows</div> <div>The noble Ráma e'en to those</div> <div>On whom the king his father set</div> <div>His eyes one moment, to forget.</div> <div>Deep in my heart the words are stored,</div> <div>Said by the mother of my lord,</div> <div>When from my home I turned away</div> <div>In the lone fearful woods to stray.</div> <div>The counsel of my mother deep</div> <div>Impressed upon my soul I keep,</div> <div>When by the fire I took my stand,</div> <div>And Ráma clasped in his my hand.</div> <div>And in my bosom cherished yet,</div> <div>My friends' advice I ne'er forget:</div> <div>Woman her holiest offering pays</div> <div>When she her husband's will obeys.</div> <div>Good Sávitrí her lord obeyed,</div> <div>And a high saint in heaven was made,</div> <div>And for the self-same virtue thou</div> <div>Hast heaven in thy possession now.</div> <div>And she with whom no dame could vie,</div> <div>Now a bright Goddess in the sky,</div> <div>Sweet Rohiṇí the Moon's dear Queen,</div> <div>Without her lord is never seen:</div> <div>And many a faithful wife beside</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >For her pure love is glorified.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Thus Sítá spake: soft rapture stole</div> <div>Through Anasúyá's saintly soul:</div> <div>Kisses on Sítá's head she pressed,</div> <div>And thus the Maithil dame addressed:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“I by long rites and toils endured</span></div> <div>Rich store of merit have secured:</div> <div>From this my wealth will I bestow</div> <div>A blessing ere I let thee go.</div> <div>So right and wise and true each word</div> <div>That from thy lips mine ears have heard,</div> <div>I love thee: be my pleasing task</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >To grant the boon that thou shalt ask.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Then Sítá marvelled much, and while</div> <div>Played o'er her lips a gentle smile,</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“All has been done, O Saint,”</span> she cried,</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“And naught remains to wish beside.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>She spake; the lady's meek reply</div> <div>Swelled Anasúyá's rapture high.</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Sítá,”</span> she said, <span class="tei tei-q" >“my gift to-day</span></div> <div>Thy sweet contentment shall repay.</div> <div>Accept this precious robe to wear,</div> <div>Of heavenly fabric, rich and rare,</div> <div>These gems thy limbs to ornament,</div> <div>This precious balsam sweet of scent.</div> <div>O Maithil dame, this gift of mine</div> <div>Shall make thy limbs with beauty shine,</div> <div>And breathing o'er thy frame dispense</div> <div>Its pure and lasting influence.</div> <div>This balsam on thy fair limbs spread</div> <div>New radiance on thy lord shall shed,</div> <div>As Lakshmí's beauty lends a grace</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >To Vishṇu's own celestial face.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Then Sítá took the gift the dame</div> <div>Bestowed on her in friendship's name,</div> <div>The balsam, gems, and robe divine,</div> <div>And garlands wreathed of bloomy twine;</div> <div>Then sat her down, with reverence meet,</div> <div>At saintly Anasúyá's feet.</div> <div>The matron rich in rites and vows</div> <div>Turned her to Ráma's Maithil spouse,</div> <div>And questioned thus in turn to hear</div> <div>A pleasant tale to charm her ear:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Sítá, 'tis said that Raghu's son</span></div> <div>Thy hand, mid gathered suitors, won.</div> <div>I fain would hear thee, lady, tell</div> <div>The story as it all befell:</div> <div>Do thou repeat each thing that passed,</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >Reviewing all from first to last.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Thus spake the dame to Sítá: she</div> <div>Replying to the devotee,</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Then, lady, thy attention lend,”</span></div> <div>Rehearsed the story to the end:</div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“King Janak, just and brave and strong,</span></div> <div>Who loves the right and hates the wrong,</div> <div>Well skilled in what the law ordains</div> <div>For Warriors, o'er Videha reigns.</div> <div>Guiding one morn the plough, his hand</div> <div>Marked out, for rites the sacred land,</div> <div>When, as the ploughshare cleft the earth,</div> <div>Child of the king I leapt to birth.</div> <div>Then as the ground he smoothed and cleared,</div> <div>He saw me all with dust besmeared,</div> <div>And on the new-found babe, amazed</div> <div>The ruler of Videha gazed.</div> <div>In childless love the monarch pressed</div> <div>The welcome infant to his breast:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“My daughter,”</span> thus he cried, <span class="tei tei-q" >“is she:”</span></div> <div>And as his child he cared for me.</div> <div>Forth from the sky was heard o'erhead</div> <div>As 'twere a human voice that said:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Yea, even so: great King, this child</span></div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >Henceforth thine own be justly styled.”</span></div> <div>Videha's monarch, virtuous souled,</div> <div>Rejoiced o'er me with joy untold,</div> <div>Delighting in his new-won prize,</div> <div>The darling of his heart and eyes.</div> <div>To his chief queen of saintly mind</div> <div>The precious treasure he consigned,</div> <div>And by her side she saw me grow,</div> <div>Nursed with the love which mothers know.</div> <span class="tei tei-pb" id="page228"></span><SPAN name="Pg228" id="Pg228" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <div>Then as he saw the seasons fly,</div> <div>And knew my marriage-time was nigh,</div> <div>My sire was vexed with care, as sad</div> <div>As one who mourns the wealth he had:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Scorn on the maiden's sire must wait</span></div> <div>From men of high and low estate:</div> <div>The virgin's father all despise,</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >Though Indra's peer, who rules the skies.”</span></div> <div>More near he saw, and still more near,</div> <div>The scorn that filled his soul with fear,</div> <div>On trouble's billowy ocean tossed,</div> <div>Like one whose shattered bark is lost.</div> <div>My father knowing how I came,</div> <div>No daughter of a mortal dame,</div> <div>In all the regions failed to see</div> <div>A bridegroom meet to match with me.</div> <div>Each way with anxious thought he scanned,</div> <div>And thus at length the monarch planned:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“The Bride's Election will I hold,</span></div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >With every rite prescribed of old.”</span></div> <div>It pleased King Varuṇ to bestow</div> <div>Quiver and shafts and heavenly bow</div> <div>Upon my father's sire who reigned,</div> <div>When Daksha his great rite ordained.</div> <div>Where was the man might bend or lift</div> <div>With utmost toil that wondrous gift?</div> <div>Not e'en in dreams could mortal king</div> <div>Strain the great bow or draw the string.</div> <div>Of this tremendous bow possessed,</div> <div>My truthful father thus addressed</div> <div>The lords of many a region, all</div> <div>Assembled at the monarch's call:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Whoe'er this bow can manage, he</span></div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >The husband of my child shall be.”</span></div> <div>The suitors viewed with hopeless eyes</div> <div>That wondrous bow of mountain size,</div> <div>Then to my sire they bade adieu,</div> <div>And all with humbled hearts withdrew.</div> <div>At length with Viśvámitra came</div> <div>This son of Raghu, dear to fame,</div> <div>The royal sacrifice to view.</div> <div>Near to my father's home he drew,</div> <div>His brother Lakshmaṇ by his side,</div> <div>Ráma, in deeds heroic tried.</div> <div>My sire with honour entertained</div> <div>The saint in lore of duty trained,</div> <div>Who thus in turn addressed the king:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“Ráma and Lakshmaṇ here who spring</span></div> <div>From royal Daśaratha, long</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >To see thy bow so passing strong.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Before the prince's eyes was laid</div> <div>That marvel, as the Bráhman prayed.</div> <div>One moment on the bow he gazed,</div> <div>Quick to the notch the string he raised,</div> <div>Then, in the wandering people's view,</div> <div>The cord with mighty force he drew.</div> <div>Then with an awful crash as loud</div> <div>As thunderbolts that cleave the cloud,</div> <div>The bow beneath the matchless strain</div> <div>Of arms heroic snapped in twain.</div> <div>Thus, giving purest water, he,</div> <div>My sire, to Ráma offered me.</div> <div>The prince the offered gift declined</div> <div>Till he should learn his father's mind;</div> <div>So horsemen swift Ayodhyá sought</div> <div>And back her aged monarch brought.</div> <div>Me then my sire to Ráma gave,</div> <div>Self-ruled, the bravest of the brave.</div> <div>And Urmilá, the next to me,</div> <div>Graced with all gifts, most fair to see,</div> <div>My sire with Raghu's house allied,</div> <div>And gave her to be Lakshmaṇ's bride.</div> <div>Thus from the princes of the land</div> <div>Lord Ráma won my maiden hand,</div> <div>And him exalted high above</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >Heroic chiefs I truly love.”</span></div> </div> <SPAN name="toc393" id="toc393"></SPAN> <SPAN name="pdf394" id="pdf394"></SPAN> <SPAN name="CantoII-CXIX" id="CantoII-CXIX" 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 CXIX. The Forest.</span></h2> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>When Anasúyá, virtuous-souled,</div> <div>Had heard the tale by Sítá told,</div> <div>She kissed the lady's brow and laced</div> <div>Her loving arms around her waist.</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“With sweet-toned words distinct and clear</span></div> <div>Thy pleasant tale has charmed mine ear,</div> <div>How the great king thy father held</div> <div>That Maiden's Choice unparalleled.</div> <div>But now the sun has sunk from sight,</div> <div>And left the world to holy Night.</div> <div>Hark! how the leafy thickets sound</div> <div>With gathering birds that twitter round:</div> <div>They sought their food by day, and all</div> <div>Flock homeward when the shadows fall.</div> <div>See, hither comes the hermit band,</div> <div>Each with his pitcher in his hand:</div> <div>Fresh from the bath, their locks are wet,</div> <div>Their coats of bark are dripping yet.</div> <div>Here saints their fires of worship tend,</div> <div>And curling wreaths of smoke ascend:</div> <div>Borne on the flames they mount above,</div> <div>Dark as the brown wings of the dove.</div> <div>The distant trees, though well-nigh bare,</div> <div>Gloom thickened by the evening air,</div> <div>And in the faint uncertain light</div> <div>Shut the horizon from our sight.</div> <div>The beasts that prowl in darkness rove</div> <div>On every side about the grove,</div> <div>And the tame deer, at ease reclined</div> <div>Their shelter near the altars find.</div> <div>The night o'er all the sky is spread,</div> <div>With lunar stars engarlanded,</div> <div>And risen in his robes of light</div> <div>The moon is beautifully bright.</div> <div>Now to thy lord I bid thee go:</div> <div>Thy pleasant tale has charmed me so:</div> <div>One thing alone I needs must pray,</div> <div>Before me first thyself array:</div> <div>Here in thy heavenly raiment shine,</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >And glad, dear love, these eyes of mine.”</span></div> <span class="tei tei-pb" id="page229"></span><SPAN name="Pg229" id="Pg229" class="tei tei-anchor"></SPAN> <div>Then like a heavenly Goddess shone</div> <div>Fair Sítá with that raiment on.</div> <div>She bowed her to the matron's feet,</div> <div>Then turned away her lord to meet.</div> <div>The hero prince with joy surveyed</div> <div>His Sítá in her robes arrayed,</div> <div>As glorious to his arms she came</div> <div>With love-gifts of the saintly dame.</div> <div>She told him how the saint to show</div> <div>Her fond affection would bestow</div> <div>That garland of celestial twine,</div> <div>Those ornaments and robes divine.</div> <div>Then Ráma's heart, nor Lakshmaṇ's less,</div> <div>Was filled with pride and happiness,</div> <div>For honours high had Sítá gained,</div> <div>Which mortal dames have scarce obtained.</div> <div>There honoured by each pious sage</div> <div>Who dwelt within the hermitage,</div> <div>Beside his darling well content</div> <div>That sacred night the hero spent.</div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>The princes, when the night had fled,</div> <div>Farewell to all the hermits said,</div> <div>Who gazed upon the distant shade,</div> <div>Their lustral rites and offerings paid.</div> <div>The saints who made their dwelling there</div> <div>In words like these addressed the pair:</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >“O Princes, monsters fierce and fell</span></div> <div>Around that distant forest dwell:</div> <div>On blood from human veins they feed,</div> <div>And various forms assume at need,</div> <div>With savage beasts of fearful power</div> <div>That human flesh and blood devour.</div> <div>Our holy saints they rend and tear</div> <div>When met alone or unaware,</div> <div>And eat them in their cruel joy:</div> <div>These chase, O Ráma, or destroy.</div> <div>By this one path our hermits go</div> <div>To fetch the fruits that yonder grow:</div> <div>By this, O Prince, thy feet should stray</div> <div><span class="tei tei-q" >Through pathless forests far away.”</span></div> </div> <div class="tei tei-lg" style="margin-bottom: 1.00em; margin-top: 1.00em"> <div>Thus by the reverent saints addressed,</div> <div>And by their prayers auspicious blessed,</div> <div>He left the holy crowd:</div> <div>His wife and brother by his side,</div> <div>Within the mighty wood he hied.</div> <div>So sinks the Day-God in his pride</div> <div>Beneath a bank of cloud.</div> </div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />