The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 02
Total number of words is 4666
Total number of unique words is 1538
44.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words
63.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words
73.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
And, credence for his tale to gain,
Showed the huge fiend(33) by Báli slain.
The prostrate corse of mountain size
Seemed nothing in the hero’s eyes;
He lightly kicked it, as it lay,
And cast it twenty leagues(34) away.
To prove his might his arrows through
Seven palms in line, uninjured, flew.
He cleft a mighty hill apart,
And down to hell he hurled his dart.
Then high Sugríva’s spirit rose,
Assured of conquest o’er his foes.
With his new champion by his side
To vast Kishkindhá’s cave he hied.
Then, summoned by his awful shout,
King Báli came in fury out,
First comforted his trembling wife,
Then sought Sugríva in the strife.
One shaft from Ráma’s deadly bow
The monarch in the dust laid low.
Then Ráma bade Sugríva reign
In place of royal Báli slain.
Then speedy envoys hurried forth
Eastward and westward, south and north,
Commanded by the grateful king
Tidings of Ráma’s spouse to bring.
Then by Sampáti’s counsel led,
Brave Hanumán, who mocked at dread,
Sprang at one wild tremendous leap
Two hundred leagues across the deep.
To Lanká’s(35) town he urged his way,
Where Rávaṇ held his royal sway.
There pensive ’neath Aśoka(36) boughs
He found poor Sítá, Ráma’s spouse.
He gave the hapless girl a ring,
A token from her lord and king.
A pledge from her fair hand he bore;
Then battered down the garden door.
Five captains of the host he slew,
Seven sons of councillors o’erthrew;
Crushed youthful Aksha on the field,
Then to his captors chose to yield.
Soon from their bonds his limbs were free,
But honouring the high decree
Which Brahmá(37) had pronounced of yore,
He calmly all their insults bore.
The town he burnt with hostile flame,
And spoke again with Ráma’s dame,
Then swiftly back to Ráma flew
With tidings of the interview.
Then with Sugríva for his guide,
Came Ráma to the ocean side.
He smote the sea with shafts as bright
As sunbeams in their summer height,
And quick appeared the Rivers’ King(38)
Obedient to the summoning.
A bridge was thrown by Nala o’er
The narrow sea from shore to shore.(39)
They crossed to Lanká’s golden town,
Where Ráma’s hand smote Rávaṇ down.
Vibhishaṇ there was left to reign
Over his brother’s wide domain.
To meet her husband Sítá came;
But Ráma, stung with ire and shame,
With bitter words his wife addressed
Before the crowd that round her pressed.
But Sítá, touched with noble ire,
Gave her fair body to the fire.
Then straight the God of Wind appeared,
And words from heaven her honour cleared.
And Ráma clasped his wife again,
Uninjured, pure from spot and stain,
Obedient to the Lord of Fire
And the high mandate of his sire.
Led by the Lord who rules the sky,
The Gods and heavenly saints drew nigh,
And honoured him with worthy meed,
Rejoicing in each glorious deed.
His task achieved, his foe removed,
He triumphed, by the Gods approved.
By grace of Heaven he raised to life
The chieftains slain in mortal strife;
Then in the magic chariot through
The clouds to Nandigráma flew.
Met by his faithful brothers there,
He loosed his votive coil of hair:
Thence fair Ayodhyá’s town he gained,
And o’er his father’s kingdom reigned.
Disease or famine ne’er oppressed
His happy people, richly blest
With all the joys of ample wealth,
Of sweet content and perfect health.
No widow mourned her well-loved mate,
No sire his son’s untimely fate.
They feared not storm or robber’s hand;
No fire or flood laid waste the land:
The Golden Age(40) had come again
To bless the days of Ráma’s reign.
From him, the great and glorious king,
Shall many a princely scion spring.
And he shall rule, beloved by men,
Ten thousand years and hundreds ten,(41)
And when his life on earth is past
To Brahmá’s world shall go at last.”
Whoe’er this noble poem reads
That tells the tale of Ráma’s deeds,
Good as the Scriptures, he shall be
From every sin and blemish free.
Whoever reads the saving strain,
With all his kin the heavens shall gain.
Bráhmans who read shall gather hence
The highest praise for eloquence.
The warrior, o’er the land shall reign,
The merchant, luck in trade obtain;
And Śúdras listening(42) ne’er shall fail
To reap advantage from the tale.(43)
Canto II. Brahmá’s Visit
Válmíki, graceful speaker, heard,
To highest admiration stirred.
To him whose fame the tale rehearsed
He paid his mental worship first;
Then with his pupil humbly bent
Before the saint most eloquent.
Thus honoured and dismissed the seer
Departed to his heavenly sphere.
Then from his cot Válmíki hied
To Tamasá’s(44) sequestered side,
Not far remote from Gangá’s tide.
He stood and saw the ripples roll
Pellucid o’er a pebbly shoal.
To Bharadvája(45) by his side
He turned in ecstasy, and cried:
“See, pupil dear, this lovely sight,
The smooth-floored shallow, pure and bright,
With not a speck or shade to mar,
And clear as good men’s bosoms are.
Here on the brink thy pitcher lay,
And bring my zone of bark, I pray.
Here will I bathe: the rill has not,
To lave the limbs, a fairer spot.
Do quickly as I bid, nor waste
The precious time; away, and haste.”
Obedient to his master’s hest
Quick from the cot he brought the vest;
The hermit took it from his hand,
And tightened round his waist the band;
Then duly dipped and bathed him there,
And muttered low his secret prayer.
To spirits and to Gods he made
Libation of the stream, and strayed
Viewing the forest deep and wide
That spread its shade on every side.
Close by the bank he saw a pair
Of curlews sporting fearless there.
But suddenly with evil mind
An outcast fowler stole behind,
And, with an aim too sure and true,
The male bird near the hermit slew.
The wretched hen in wild despair
With fluttering pinions beat the air,
And shrieked a long and bitter cry
When low on earth she saw him lie,
Her loved companion, quivering, dead,
His dear wings with his lifeblood red;
And for her golden crested mate
She mourned, and was disconsolate.
The hermit saw the slaughtered bird,
And all his heart with ruth was stirred.
The fowler’s impious deed distressed
His gentle sympathetic breast,
And while the curlew’s sad cries rang
Within his ears, the hermit sang:
“No fame be thine for endless time,
Because, base outcast, of thy crime,
Whose cruel hand was fain to slay
One of this gentle pair at play!”
E’en as he spoke his bosom wrought
And laboured with the wondering thought
What was the speech his ready tongue
Had uttered when his heart was wrung.
He pondered long upon the speech,
Recalled the words and measured each,
And thus exclaimed the saintly guide
To Bharadvája by his side:
“With equal lines of even feet,
With rhythm and time and tone complete,
The measured form of words I spoke
In shock of grief be termed a śloke.”(46)
And Bharadvája, nothing slow
His faithful love and zeal to show,
Answered those words of wisdom, “Be
The name, my lord, as pleases thee.”
As rules prescribe the hermit took
Some lustral water from the brook.
But still on this his constant thought
Kept brooding, as his home he sought;
While Bharadvája paced behind,
A pupil sage of lowly mind,
And in his hand a pitcher bore
With pure fresh water brimming o’er.
Soon as they reached their calm retreat
The holy hermit took his seat;
His mind from worldly cares recalled,
And mused in deepest thought enthralled.
Then glorious Brahmá,(47) Lord Most High,
Creator of the earth and sky,
The four-faced God, to meet the sage
Came to Válmíki’s hermitage.
Soon as the mighty God he saw,
Up sprang the saint in wondering awe.
Mute, with clasped hands, his head he bent,
And stood before him reverent.
His honoured guest he greeted well,
Who bade him of his welfare tell;
Gave water for his blessed feet,
Brought offerings,(48) and prepared a seat.
In honoured place the God Most High
Sate down, and bade the saint sit nigh.
There sate before Válmíki’s eyes
The Father of the earth and skies;
But still the hermit’s thoughts were bent
On one thing only, all intent
On that poor curlew’s mournful fate
Lamenting for her slaughtered mate;
And still his lips, in absent mood,
The verse that told his grief, renewed:
“Woe to the fowler’s impious hand
That did the deed that folly planned;
That could to needless death devote
The curlew of the tuneful throat!”
The heavenly Father smiled in glee,
And said, “O best of hermits, see,
A verse, unconscious, thou hast made;
No longer be the task delayed.
Seek not to trace, with labour vain,
The unpremeditated strain.
The tuneful lines thy lips rehearsed
Spontaneous from thy bosom burst.
Then come, O best of seers, relate
The life of Ráma good and great,
The tale that saintly Nárad told,
In all its glorious length unfold.
Of all the deeds his arm has done
Upon this earth, omit not one,
And thus the noble life record
Of that wise, brave, and virtuous lord.
His every act to day displayed,
His secret life to none betrayed:
How Lakshmaṇ, how the giants fought;
With high emprise and hidden thought:
And all that Janak’s child(49) befell
Where all could see, where none could tell.
The whole of this shall truly be
Made known, O best of saints, to thee.
In all thy poem, through my grace,
No word of falsehood shall have place.
Begin the story, and rehearse
The tale divine in charming verse.
As long as in this firm-set land
The streams shall flow, the mountains stand,
So long throughout the world, be sure,
The great Rámáyan shall endure.(50)
While the Rámáyan’s ancient strain
Shall glorious in the earth remain,
To higher spheres shalt thou arise
And dwell with me above the skies.”
He spoke, and vanished into air,
And left Válmíki wondering there.
The pupils of the holy man,
Moved by their love of him, began
To chant that verse, and ever more
They marvelled as they sang it o’er:
“Behold, the four-lined balanced rime,
Repeated over many a time,
In words that from the hermit broke
In shock of grief, becomes a śloke.”
This measure now Válmíki chose
Wherein his story to compose.
In hundreds of such verses, sweet
With equal lines and even feet,
The saintly poet, lofty-souled,
The glorious deeds of Ráma told.
Canto III. The Argument.
The hermit thus with watchful heed
Received the poem’s pregnant seed,
And looked with eager thought around
If fuller knowledge might be found.
His lips with water first bedewed,(51)
He sate, in reverent attitude
On holy grass,(52) the points all bent
Together toward the orient;(53)
And thus in meditation he
Entered the path of poesy.
Then clearly, through his virtue’s might,
All lay discovered to his sight,
Whate’er befell, through all their life,
Ráma, his brother, and his wife:
And Daśaratha and each queen
At every time, in every scene:
His people too, of every sort;
The nobles of his princely court:
Whate’er was said, whate’er decreed,
Each time they sate each plan and deed:
For holy thought and fervent rite
Had so refined his keener sight
That by his sanctity his view
The present, past, and future knew,
And he with mental eye could grasp,
Like fruit within his fingers clasp,
The life of Ráma, great and good,
Roaming with Sítá in the wood.
He told, with secret-piercing eyes,
The tale of Ráma’s high emprise,
Each listening ear that shall entice,
A sea of pearls of highest price.
Thus good Válmíki, sage divine,
Rehearsed the tale of Raghu’s line,
As Nárad, heavenly saint, before
Had traced the story’s outline o’er.
He sang of Ráma’s princely birth,
His kindness and heroic worth;
His love for all, his patient youth,
His gentleness and constant truth,
And many a tale and legend old
By holy Viśvámitra told.
How Janak’s child he wooed and won,
And broke the bow that bent to none.
How he with every virtue fraught
His namesake Ráma(54) met and fought.
The choice of Ráma for the throne;
The malice by Kaikeyí shown,
Whose evil counsel marred the plan
And drove him forth a banisht man.
How the king grieved and groaned, and cried,
And swooned away and pining died.
The subjects’ woe when thus bereft;
And how the following crowds he left:
With Guha talked, and firmly stern
Ordered his driver to return.
How Gangá’s farther shore he gained;
By Bharadvája entertained,
By whose advice he journeyed still
And came to Chitrakúṭa’s hill.
How there he dwelt and built a cot;
How Bharat journeyed to the spot;
His earnest supplication made;
Drink-offerings to their father paid;
The sandals given by Ráma’s hand,
As emblems of his right, to stand:
How from his presence Bharat went
And years in Nandigráma spent.
How Ráma entered Daṇḍak wood
And in Sutíkhṇa’s presence stood.
The favour Anasúyá showed,
The wondrous balsam she bestowed.
How Śarabhanga’s dwelling-place
They sought; saw Indra face to face;
The meeting with Agastya gained;
The heavenly bow from him obtained.
How Ráma with Virádha met;
Their home in Panchavaṭa set.
How Śúrpaṇakhá underwent
The mockery and disfigurement.
Of Triśirá’s and Khara’s fall,
Of Rávaṇ roused at vengeance call,
Márícha doomed, without escape;
The fair Videhan(55) lady’s rape.
How Ráma wept and raved in vain,
And how the Vulture-king was slain.
How Ráma fierce Kabandha slew;
Then to the side of Pampá drew,
Met Hanumán, and her whose vows
Were kept beneath the greenwood boughs.
How Raghu’s son, the lofty-souled,
On Pampá’s bank wept uncontrolled,
Then journeyed, Rishyamúk to reach,
And of Sugríva then had speech.
The friendship made, which both had sought:
How Báli and Sugríva fought.
How Báli in the strife was slain,
And how Sugríva came to reign.
The treaty, Tára’s wild lament;
The rainy nights in watching spent.
The wrath of Raghu’s lion son;
The gathering of the hosts in one.
The sending of the spies about,
And all the regions pointed out.
The ring by Ráma’s hand bestowed;
The cave wherein the bear abode.
The fast proposed, their lives to end;
Sampati gained to be their friend.
The scaling of the hill, the leap
Of Hanumán across the deep.
Ocean’s command that bade them seek
Maináka of the lofty peak.
The death of Sinhiká, the sight
Of Lanká with her palace bright
How Hanumán stole in at eve;
His plan the giants to deceive.
How through the square he made his way
To chambers where the women lay,
Within the Aśoka garden came
And there found Ráma’s captive dame.
His colloquy with her he sought,
And giving of the ring he brought.
How Sítá gave a gem o’erjoyed;
How Hanumán the grove destroyed.
How giantesses trembling fled,
And servant fiends were smitten dead.
How Hanumán was seized; their ire
When Lanká blazed with hostile fire.
His leap across the sea once more;
The eating of the honey store.
How Ráma he consoled, and how
He showed the gem from Sítá’s brow.
With Ocean, Ráma’s interview;
The bridge that Nala o’er it threw.
The crossing, and the sitting down
At night round Lanká’s royal town.
The treaty with Vibhíshaṇ made:
The plan for Rávaṇ’s slaughter laid.
How Kumbhakarṇa in his pride
And Meghanáda fought and died.
How Rávaṇ in the fight was slain,
And captive Sítá brought again.
Vibhíshaṇ set upon the throne;
The flying chariot Pushpak shown.
How Brahmá and the Gods appeared,
And Sítá’s doubted honour cleared.
How in the flying car they rode
To Bharadvája’s cabin abode.
The Wind-God’s son sent on afar;
How Bharat met the flying car.
How Ráma then was king ordained;
The legions their discharge obtained.
How Ráma cast his queen away;
How grew the people’s love each day.
Thus did the saint Válmíki tell
Whate’er in Ráma’s life befell,
And in the closing verses all
That yet to come will once befall.
Canto IV. The Rhapsodists.
When to the end the tale was brought,
Rose in the sage’s mind the thought;
“Now who throughout this earth will go,
And tell it forth that all may know?”
As thus he mused with anxious breast,
Behold, in hermit’s raiment dressed,
Kuśá and Lava(56) came to greet
Their master and embrace his feet.
The twins he saw, that princely pair
Sweet-voiced, who dwelt beside him there
None for the task could be more fit,
For skilled were they in Holy Writ;
And so the great Rámáyan, fraught
With lore divine, to these he taught:
The lay whose verses sweet and clear
Take with delight the listening ear,
That tell of Sítá’s noble life
And Rávaṇ’s fall in battle strife.
Great joy to all who hear they bring,
Sweet to recite and sweet to sing.
For music’s sevenfold notes are there,
And triple measure,(57) wrought with care
With melody and tone and time,
And flavours(58) that enhance the rime;
Heroic might has ample place,
And loathing of the false and base,
With anger, mirth, and terror, blent
With tenderness, surprise, content.
When, half the hermit’s grace to gain,
And half because they loved the strain,
The youth within their hearts had stored
The poem that his lips outpoured,
Válmíki kissed them on the head,
As at his feet they bowed, and said;
“Recite ye this heroic song
In tranquil shades where sages throng:
Recite it where the good resort,
In lowly home and royal court.”
The hermit ceased. The tuneful pair,
Like heavenly minstrels sweet and fair,
In music’s art divinely skilled,
Their saintly master’s word fulfilled.
Like Ráma’s self, from whom they came,
They showed their sire in face and frame,
As though from some fair sculptured stone
Two selfsame images had grown.
Sometimes the pair rose up to sing,
Surrounded by a holy ring,
Where seated on the grass had met
Full many a musing anchoret.
Then tears bedimmed those gentle eyes,
As transport took them and surprise,
And as they listened every one
Cried in delight, Well done! Well done!
Those sages versed in holy lore
Praised the sweet minstrels more and more:
And wondered at the singers’ skill,
And the bard’s verses sweeter still,
Which laid so clear before the eye
The glorious deeds of days gone by.
Thus by the virtuous hermits praised,
Inspirited their voice they raised.
Pleased with the song this holy man
Would give the youths a water-can;
One gave a fair ascetic dress,
Or sweet fruit from the wilderness.
One saint a black-deer’s hide would bring,
And one a sacrificial string:
One, a clay pitcher from his hoard,
And one, a twisted munja cord.(59)
One in his joy an axe would find,
One braid, their plaited locks to bind.
One gave a sacrificial cup,
One rope to tie their fagots up;
While fuel at their feet was laid,
Or hermit’s stool of fig-tree made.
All gave, or if they gave not, none
Forgot at least a benison.
Some saints, delighted with their lays,
Would promise health and length of days;
Others with surest words would add
Some boon to make their spirit glad.
In such degree of honour then
That song was held by holy men:
That living song which life can give,
By which shall many a minstrel live.
In seat of kings, in crowded hall,
They sang the poem, praised of all.
And Ráma chanced to hear their lay,
While he the votive steed(60) would slay,
And sent fit messengers to bring
The minstrel pair before the king.
They came, and found the monarch high
Enthroned in gold, his brothers nigh;
While many a minister below,
And noble, sate in lengthened row.
The youthful pair awhile he viewed
Graceful in modest attitude,
And then in words like these addressed
His brother Lakshmaṇ and the rest:
“Come, listen to the wondrous strain
Recited by these godlike twain,
Sweet singers of a story fraught
With melody and lofty thought.”
The pair, with voices sweet and strong,
Rolled the full tide of noble song,
With tone and accent deftly blent
To suit the changing argument.
Mid that assembly loud and clear
Rang forth that lay so sweet to hear,
That universal rapture stole
Through each man’s frame and heart and soul.
“These minstrels, blest with every sign
That marks a high and princely line,
In holy shades who dwell,
Enshrined in Saint Válmíki’s lay,
A monument to live for aye,
My deeds in song shall tell.”
Thus Ráma spoke: their breasts were fired,
And the great tale, as if inspired,
The youths began to sing,
While every heart with transport swelled,
And mute and rapt attention held
The concourse and the king.
Canto V. Ayodhyá.
“Ikshváku’s sons from days of old
Were ever brave and mighty-souled.
The land their arms had made their own
Was bounded by the sea alone.
Their holy works have won them praise,
Through countless years, from Manu’s days.
Their ancient sire was Sagar, he
Whose high command dug out the sea:(61)
With sixty thousand sons to throng
Around him as he marched along.
From them this glorious tale proceeds:
The great Rámáyan tells their deeds.
This noble song whose lines contain
Lessons of duty, love, and gain,
We two will now at length recite,
While good men listen with delight.
On Sarjú’s(62) bank, of ample size,
The happy realm of Kośal lies,
With fertile length of fair champaign
And flocks and herds and wealth of grain.
There, famous in her old renown,
Ayodhyá(63) stands, the royal town,
In bygone ages built and planned
By sainted Manu’s(64) princely hand.
Imperial seat! her walls extend
Twelve measured leagues from end to end,
And three in width from side to side,
With square and palace beautified.
Her gates at even distance stand;
Her ample roads are wisely planned.
Right glorious is her royal street
Where streams allay the dust and heat.
On level ground in even row
Her houses rise in goodly show:
Terrace and palace, arch and gate
The queenly city decorate.
High are her ramparts, strong and vast,
By ways at even distance passed,
With circling moat, both deep and wide,
And store of weapons fortified.
King Daśaratha, lofty-souled,
That city guarded and controlled,
With towering Sál trees belted round,(65)
And many a grove and pleasure ground,
As royal Indra, throned on high,
Rules his fair city in the sky.(66)
She seems a painted city, fair
With chess-board line and even square.(67)
And cool boughs shade the lovely lake
Where weary men their thirst may slake.
There gilded chariots gleam and shine,
And stately piles the Gods enshrine.
There gay sleek people ever throng
To festival and dance and song.
A mine is she of gems and sheen,
The darling home of Fortune’s Queen.
With noblest sort of drink and meat,
The fairest rice and golden wheat,
And fragrant with the chaplet’s scent
With holy oil and incense blent.
With many an elephant and steed,
And wains for draught and cars for speed.
With envoys sent by distant kings,
And merchants with their precious things
With banners o’er her roofs that play,
And weapons that a hundred slay;(68)
All warlike engines framed by man,
And every class of artisan.
A city rich beyond compare
With bards and minstrels gathered there,
And men and damsels who entrance
The soul with play and song and dance.
In every street is heard the lute,
The drum, the tabret, and the flute,
The Veda chanted soft and low,
The ringing of the archer’s bow;
With bands of godlike heroes skilled
In every warlike weapon, filled,
And kept by warriors from the foe,
As Nágas guard their home below.(69)
There wisest Bráhmans evermore
The flame of worship feed,
And versed in all the Vedas’ lore,
Their lives of virtue lead.
Truthful and pure, they freely give;
They keep each sense controlled,
And in their holy fervour live
Like the great saints of old.
Canto VI. The King.
There reigned a king of name revered,
To country and to town endeared,
Great Daśaratha, good and sage,
Well read in Scripture’s holy page:
Upon his kingdom’s weal intent,
Mighty and brave and provident;
The pride of old Ikshváku’s seed
For lofty thought and righteous deed.
Peer of the saints, for virtues famed,
For foes subdued and passions tamed:
A rival in his wealth untold
Of Indra and the Lord of Gold.
Like Manu first of kings, he reigned,
And worthily his state maintained.
For firm and just and ever true
Love, duty, gain he kept in view,
And ruled his city rich and free,
Like Indra’s Amarávatí.
And worthy of so fair a place
There dwelt a just and happy race
With troops of children blest.
Each man contented sought no more,
Nor longed with envy for the store
By richer friends possessed.
For poverty was there unknown,
And each man counted as his own
Kine, steeds, and gold, and grain.
All dressed in raiment bright and clean,
And every townsman might be seen
With earrings, wreath, or chain.
None deigned to feed on broken fare,
And none was false or stingy there.
A piece of gold, the smallest pay,
Was earned by labour for a day.
On every arm were bracelets worn,
And none was faithless or forsworn,
A braggart or unkind.
None lived upon another’s wealth,
None pined with dread or broken health,
Or dark disease of mind.
High-souled were all. The slanderous word,
The boastful lie, were never heard.
Each man was constant to his vows,
And lived devoted to his spouse.
No other love his fancy knew,
And she was tender, kind, and true.
Her dames were fair of form and face,
With charm of wit and gentle grace,
With modest raiment simply neat,
And winning manners soft and sweet.
The twice-born sages, whose delight
Was Scripture’s page and holy rite,
Their calm and settled course pursued,
Nor sought the menial multitude.
In many a Scripture each was versed,
And each the flame of worship nursed,
And gave with lavish hand.
Each paid to Heaven the offerings due,
And none was godless or untrue
In all that holy band.
To Bráhmans, as the laws ordain,
The Warrior caste were ever fain
The reverence due to pay;
And these the Vaiśyas’ peaceful crowd,
Who trade and toil for gain, were proud
To honour and obey;
And all were by the Śúdras(70) served,
Who never from their duty swerved,
Their proper worship all addressed
To Bráhman, spirits, God, and guest.
Pure and unmixt their rites remained,
Their race’s honour ne’er was stained.(71)
Cheered by his grandsons, sons, and wife,
Each passed a long and happy life.
Thus was that famous city held
By one who all his race excelled,
Blest in his gentle reign,
As the whole land aforetime swayed
By Manu, prince of men, obeyed
Her king from main to main.
And heroes kept her, strong and brave,
As lions guard their mountain cave:
Fierce as devouring flame they burned,
And fought till death, but never turned.
Horses had she of noblest breed,
Like Indra’s for their form and speed,
From Váhlí’s(72) hills and Sindhu’s(73) sand,
Vanáyu(74) and Kámboja’s land.(75)
Her noble elephants had strayed
Through Vindhyan and Himálayan shade,
Gigantic in their bulk and height,
Yet gentle in their matchless might.
They rivalled well the world-spread fame
Of the great stock from which they came,
Of Váman, vast of size,
Of Mahápadma’s glorious line,
Thine, Anjan, and, Airávat, thine.(76)
Upholders of the skies.
With those, enrolled in fourfold class,
Who all their mighty kin surpass,
Whom men Matangas name,
And Mrigas spotted black and white,
And Bhadras of unwearied might,
And Mandras hard to tame.(77)
Thus, worthy of the name she bore,(78)
Ayodhyá for a league or more
Cast a bright glory round,
Where Daśaratha wise and great
Governed his fair ancestral state,
With every virtue crowned.
Like Indra in the skies he reigned
Showed the huge fiend(33) by Báli slain.
The prostrate corse of mountain size
Seemed nothing in the hero’s eyes;
He lightly kicked it, as it lay,
And cast it twenty leagues(34) away.
To prove his might his arrows through
Seven palms in line, uninjured, flew.
He cleft a mighty hill apart,
And down to hell he hurled his dart.
Then high Sugríva’s spirit rose,
Assured of conquest o’er his foes.
With his new champion by his side
To vast Kishkindhá’s cave he hied.
Then, summoned by his awful shout,
King Báli came in fury out,
First comforted his trembling wife,
Then sought Sugríva in the strife.
One shaft from Ráma’s deadly bow
The monarch in the dust laid low.
Then Ráma bade Sugríva reign
In place of royal Báli slain.
Then speedy envoys hurried forth
Eastward and westward, south and north,
Commanded by the grateful king
Tidings of Ráma’s spouse to bring.
Then by Sampáti’s counsel led,
Brave Hanumán, who mocked at dread,
Sprang at one wild tremendous leap
Two hundred leagues across the deep.
To Lanká’s(35) town he urged his way,
Where Rávaṇ held his royal sway.
There pensive ’neath Aśoka(36) boughs
He found poor Sítá, Ráma’s spouse.
He gave the hapless girl a ring,
A token from her lord and king.
A pledge from her fair hand he bore;
Then battered down the garden door.
Five captains of the host he slew,
Seven sons of councillors o’erthrew;
Crushed youthful Aksha on the field,
Then to his captors chose to yield.
Soon from their bonds his limbs were free,
But honouring the high decree
Which Brahmá(37) had pronounced of yore,
He calmly all their insults bore.
The town he burnt with hostile flame,
And spoke again with Ráma’s dame,
Then swiftly back to Ráma flew
With tidings of the interview.
Then with Sugríva for his guide,
Came Ráma to the ocean side.
He smote the sea with shafts as bright
As sunbeams in their summer height,
And quick appeared the Rivers’ King(38)
Obedient to the summoning.
A bridge was thrown by Nala o’er
The narrow sea from shore to shore.(39)
They crossed to Lanká’s golden town,
Where Ráma’s hand smote Rávaṇ down.
Vibhishaṇ there was left to reign
Over his brother’s wide domain.
To meet her husband Sítá came;
But Ráma, stung with ire and shame,
With bitter words his wife addressed
Before the crowd that round her pressed.
But Sítá, touched with noble ire,
Gave her fair body to the fire.
Then straight the God of Wind appeared,
And words from heaven her honour cleared.
And Ráma clasped his wife again,
Uninjured, pure from spot and stain,
Obedient to the Lord of Fire
And the high mandate of his sire.
Led by the Lord who rules the sky,
The Gods and heavenly saints drew nigh,
And honoured him with worthy meed,
Rejoicing in each glorious deed.
His task achieved, his foe removed,
He triumphed, by the Gods approved.
By grace of Heaven he raised to life
The chieftains slain in mortal strife;
Then in the magic chariot through
The clouds to Nandigráma flew.
Met by his faithful brothers there,
He loosed his votive coil of hair:
Thence fair Ayodhyá’s town he gained,
And o’er his father’s kingdom reigned.
Disease or famine ne’er oppressed
His happy people, richly blest
With all the joys of ample wealth,
Of sweet content and perfect health.
No widow mourned her well-loved mate,
No sire his son’s untimely fate.
They feared not storm or robber’s hand;
No fire or flood laid waste the land:
The Golden Age(40) had come again
To bless the days of Ráma’s reign.
From him, the great and glorious king,
Shall many a princely scion spring.
And he shall rule, beloved by men,
Ten thousand years and hundreds ten,(41)
And when his life on earth is past
To Brahmá’s world shall go at last.”
Whoe’er this noble poem reads
That tells the tale of Ráma’s deeds,
Good as the Scriptures, he shall be
From every sin and blemish free.
Whoever reads the saving strain,
With all his kin the heavens shall gain.
Bráhmans who read shall gather hence
The highest praise for eloquence.
The warrior, o’er the land shall reign,
The merchant, luck in trade obtain;
And Śúdras listening(42) ne’er shall fail
To reap advantage from the tale.(43)
Canto II. Brahmá’s Visit
Válmíki, graceful speaker, heard,
To highest admiration stirred.
To him whose fame the tale rehearsed
He paid his mental worship first;
Then with his pupil humbly bent
Before the saint most eloquent.
Thus honoured and dismissed the seer
Departed to his heavenly sphere.
Then from his cot Válmíki hied
To Tamasá’s(44) sequestered side,
Not far remote from Gangá’s tide.
He stood and saw the ripples roll
Pellucid o’er a pebbly shoal.
To Bharadvája(45) by his side
He turned in ecstasy, and cried:
“See, pupil dear, this lovely sight,
The smooth-floored shallow, pure and bright,
With not a speck or shade to mar,
And clear as good men’s bosoms are.
Here on the brink thy pitcher lay,
And bring my zone of bark, I pray.
Here will I bathe: the rill has not,
To lave the limbs, a fairer spot.
Do quickly as I bid, nor waste
The precious time; away, and haste.”
Obedient to his master’s hest
Quick from the cot he brought the vest;
The hermit took it from his hand,
And tightened round his waist the band;
Then duly dipped and bathed him there,
And muttered low his secret prayer.
To spirits and to Gods he made
Libation of the stream, and strayed
Viewing the forest deep and wide
That spread its shade on every side.
Close by the bank he saw a pair
Of curlews sporting fearless there.
But suddenly with evil mind
An outcast fowler stole behind,
And, with an aim too sure and true,
The male bird near the hermit slew.
The wretched hen in wild despair
With fluttering pinions beat the air,
And shrieked a long and bitter cry
When low on earth she saw him lie,
Her loved companion, quivering, dead,
His dear wings with his lifeblood red;
And for her golden crested mate
She mourned, and was disconsolate.
The hermit saw the slaughtered bird,
And all his heart with ruth was stirred.
The fowler’s impious deed distressed
His gentle sympathetic breast,
And while the curlew’s sad cries rang
Within his ears, the hermit sang:
“No fame be thine for endless time,
Because, base outcast, of thy crime,
Whose cruel hand was fain to slay
One of this gentle pair at play!”
E’en as he spoke his bosom wrought
And laboured with the wondering thought
What was the speech his ready tongue
Had uttered when his heart was wrung.
He pondered long upon the speech,
Recalled the words and measured each,
And thus exclaimed the saintly guide
To Bharadvája by his side:
“With equal lines of even feet,
With rhythm and time and tone complete,
The measured form of words I spoke
In shock of grief be termed a śloke.”(46)
And Bharadvája, nothing slow
His faithful love and zeal to show,
Answered those words of wisdom, “Be
The name, my lord, as pleases thee.”
As rules prescribe the hermit took
Some lustral water from the brook.
But still on this his constant thought
Kept brooding, as his home he sought;
While Bharadvája paced behind,
A pupil sage of lowly mind,
And in his hand a pitcher bore
With pure fresh water brimming o’er.
Soon as they reached their calm retreat
The holy hermit took his seat;
His mind from worldly cares recalled,
And mused in deepest thought enthralled.
Then glorious Brahmá,(47) Lord Most High,
Creator of the earth and sky,
The four-faced God, to meet the sage
Came to Válmíki’s hermitage.
Soon as the mighty God he saw,
Up sprang the saint in wondering awe.
Mute, with clasped hands, his head he bent,
And stood before him reverent.
His honoured guest he greeted well,
Who bade him of his welfare tell;
Gave water for his blessed feet,
Brought offerings,(48) and prepared a seat.
In honoured place the God Most High
Sate down, and bade the saint sit nigh.
There sate before Válmíki’s eyes
The Father of the earth and skies;
But still the hermit’s thoughts were bent
On one thing only, all intent
On that poor curlew’s mournful fate
Lamenting for her slaughtered mate;
And still his lips, in absent mood,
The verse that told his grief, renewed:
“Woe to the fowler’s impious hand
That did the deed that folly planned;
That could to needless death devote
The curlew of the tuneful throat!”
The heavenly Father smiled in glee,
And said, “O best of hermits, see,
A verse, unconscious, thou hast made;
No longer be the task delayed.
Seek not to trace, with labour vain,
The unpremeditated strain.
The tuneful lines thy lips rehearsed
Spontaneous from thy bosom burst.
Then come, O best of seers, relate
The life of Ráma good and great,
The tale that saintly Nárad told,
In all its glorious length unfold.
Of all the deeds his arm has done
Upon this earth, omit not one,
And thus the noble life record
Of that wise, brave, and virtuous lord.
His every act to day displayed,
His secret life to none betrayed:
How Lakshmaṇ, how the giants fought;
With high emprise and hidden thought:
And all that Janak’s child(49) befell
Where all could see, where none could tell.
The whole of this shall truly be
Made known, O best of saints, to thee.
In all thy poem, through my grace,
No word of falsehood shall have place.
Begin the story, and rehearse
The tale divine in charming verse.
As long as in this firm-set land
The streams shall flow, the mountains stand,
So long throughout the world, be sure,
The great Rámáyan shall endure.(50)
While the Rámáyan’s ancient strain
Shall glorious in the earth remain,
To higher spheres shalt thou arise
And dwell with me above the skies.”
He spoke, and vanished into air,
And left Válmíki wondering there.
The pupils of the holy man,
Moved by their love of him, began
To chant that verse, and ever more
They marvelled as they sang it o’er:
“Behold, the four-lined balanced rime,
Repeated over many a time,
In words that from the hermit broke
In shock of grief, becomes a śloke.”
This measure now Válmíki chose
Wherein his story to compose.
In hundreds of such verses, sweet
With equal lines and even feet,
The saintly poet, lofty-souled,
The glorious deeds of Ráma told.
Canto III. The Argument.
The hermit thus with watchful heed
Received the poem’s pregnant seed,
And looked with eager thought around
If fuller knowledge might be found.
His lips with water first bedewed,(51)
He sate, in reverent attitude
On holy grass,(52) the points all bent
Together toward the orient;(53)
And thus in meditation he
Entered the path of poesy.
Then clearly, through his virtue’s might,
All lay discovered to his sight,
Whate’er befell, through all their life,
Ráma, his brother, and his wife:
And Daśaratha and each queen
At every time, in every scene:
His people too, of every sort;
The nobles of his princely court:
Whate’er was said, whate’er decreed,
Each time they sate each plan and deed:
For holy thought and fervent rite
Had so refined his keener sight
That by his sanctity his view
The present, past, and future knew,
And he with mental eye could grasp,
Like fruit within his fingers clasp,
The life of Ráma, great and good,
Roaming with Sítá in the wood.
He told, with secret-piercing eyes,
The tale of Ráma’s high emprise,
Each listening ear that shall entice,
A sea of pearls of highest price.
Thus good Válmíki, sage divine,
Rehearsed the tale of Raghu’s line,
As Nárad, heavenly saint, before
Had traced the story’s outline o’er.
He sang of Ráma’s princely birth,
His kindness and heroic worth;
His love for all, his patient youth,
His gentleness and constant truth,
And many a tale and legend old
By holy Viśvámitra told.
How Janak’s child he wooed and won,
And broke the bow that bent to none.
How he with every virtue fraught
His namesake Ráma(54) met and fought.
The choice of Ráma for the throne;
The malice by Kaikeyí shown,
Whose evil counsel marred the plan
And drove him forth a banisht man.
How the king grieved and groaned, and cried,
And swooned away and pining died.
The subjects’ woe when thus bereft;
And how the following crowds he left:
With Guha talked, and firmly stern
Ordered his driver to return.
How Gangá’s farther shore he gained;
By Bharadvája entertained,
By whose advice he journeyed still
And came to Chitrakúṭa’s hill.
How there he dwelt and built a cot;
How Bharat journeyed to the spot;
His earnest supplication made;
Drink-offerings to their father paid;
The sandals given by Ráma’s hand,
As emblems of his right, to stand:
How from his presence Bharat went
And years in Nandigráma spent.
How Ráma entered Daṇḍak wood
And in Sutíkhṇa’s presence stood.
The favour Anasúyá showed,
The wondrous balsam she bestowed.
How Śarabhanga’s dwelling-place
They sought; saw Indra face to face;
The meeting with Agastya gained;
The heavenly bow from him obtained.
How Ráma with Virádha met;
Their home in Panchavaṭa set.
How Śúrpaṇakhá underwent
The mockery and disfigurement.
Of Triśirá’s and Khara’s fall,
Of Rávaṇ roused at vengeance call,
Márícha doomed, without escape;
The fair Videhan(55) lady’s rape.
How Ráma wept and raved in vain,
And how the Vulture-king was slain.
How Ráma fierce Kabandha slew;
Then to the side of Pampá drew,
Met Hanumán, and her whose vows
Were kept beneath the greenwood boughs.
How Raghu’s son, the lofty-souled,
On Pampá’s bank wept uncontrolled,
Then journeyed, Rishyamúk to reach,
And of Sugríva then had speech.
The friendship made, which both had sought:
How Báli and Sugríva fought.
How Báli in the strife was slain,
And how Sugríva came to reign.
The treaty, Tára’s wild lament;
The rainy nights in watching spent.
The wrath of Raghu’s lion son;
The gathering of the hosts in one.
The sending of the spies about,
And all the regions pointed out.
The ring by Ráma’s hand bestowed;
The cave wherein the bear abode.
The fast proposed, their lives to end;
Sampati gained to be their friend.
The scaling of the hill, the leap
Of Hanumán across the deep.
Ocean’s command that bade them seek
Maináka of the lofty peak.
The death of Sinhiká, the sight
Of Lanká with her palace bright
How Hanumán stole in at eve;
His plan the giants to deceive.
How through the square he made his way
To chambers where the women lay,
Within the Aśoka garden came
And there found Ráma’s captive dame.
His colloquy with her he sought,
And giving of the ring he brought.
How Sítá gave a gem o’erjoyed;
How Hanumán the grove destroyed.
How giantesses trembling fled,
And servant fiends were smitten dead.
How Hanumán was seized; their ire
When Lanká blazed with hostile fire.
His leap across the sea once more;
The eating of the honey store.
How Ráma he consoled, and how
He showed the gem from Sítá’s brow.
With Ocean, Ráma’s interview;
The bridge that Nala o’er it threw.
The crossing, and the sitting down
At night round Lanká’s royal town.
The treaty with Vibhíshaṇ made:
The plan for Rávaṇ’s slaughter laid.
How Kumbhakarṇa in his pride
And Meghanáda fought and died.
How Rávaṇ in the fight was slain,
And captive Sítá brought again.
Vibhíshaṇ set upon the throne;
The flying chariot Pushpak shown.
How Brahmá and the Gods appeared,
And Sítá’s doubted honour cleared.
How in the flying car they rode
To Bharadvája’s cabin abode.
The Wind-God’s son sent on afar;
How Bharat met the flying car.
How Ráma then was king ordained;
The legions their discharge obtained.
How Ráma cast his queen away;
How grew the people’s love each day.
Thus did the saint Válmíki tell
Whate’er in Ráma’s life befell,
And in the closing verses all
That yet to come will once befall.
Canto IV. The Rhapsodists.
When to the end the tale was brought,
Rose in the sage’s mind the thought;
“Now who throughout this earth will go,
And tell it forth that all may know?”
As thus he mused with anxious breast,
Behold, in hermit’s raiment dressed,
Kuśá and Lava(56) came to greet
Their master and embrace his feet.
The twins he saw, that princely pair
Sweet-voiced, who dwelt beside him there
None for the task could be more fit,
For skilled were they in Holy Writ;
And so the great Rámáyan, fraught
With lore divine, to these he taught:
The lay whose verses sweet and clear
Take with delight the listening ear,
That tell of Sítá’s noble life
And Rávaṇ’s fall in battle strife.
Great joy to all who hear they bring,
Sweet to recite and sweet to sing.
For music’s sevenfold notes are there,
And triple measure,(57) wrought with care
With melody and tone and time,
And flavours(58) that enhance the rime;
Heroic might has ample place,
And loathing of the false and base,
With anger, mirth, and terror, blent
With tenderness, surprise, content.
When, half the hermit’s grace to gain,
And half because they loved the strain,
The youth within their hearts had stored
The poem that his lips outpoured,
Válmíki kissed them on the head,
As at his feet they bowed, and said;
“Recite ye this heroic song
In tranquil shades where sages throng:
Recite it where the good resort,
In lowly home and royal court.”
The hermit ceased. The tuneful pair,
Like heavenly minstrels sweet and fair,
In music’s art divinely skilled,
Their saintly master’s word fulfilled.
Like Ráma’s self, from whom they came,
They showed their sire in face and frame,
As though from some fair sculptured stone
Two selfsame images had grown.
Sometimes the pair rose up to sing,
Surrounded by a holy ring,
Where seated on the grass had met
Full many a musing anchoret.
Then tears bedimmed those gentle eyes,
As transport took them and surprise,
And as they listened every one
Cried in delight, Well done! Well done!
Those sages versed in holy lore
Praised the sweet minstrels more and more:
And wondered at the singers’ skill,
And the bard’s verses sweeter still,
Which laid so clear before the eye
The glorious deeds of days gone by.
Thus by the virtuous hermits praised,
Inspirited their voice they raised.
Pleased with the song this holy man
Would give the youths a water-can;
One gave a fair ascetic dress,
Or sweet fruit from the wilderness.
One saint a black-deer’s hide would bring,
And one a sacrificial string:
One, a clay pitcher from his hoard,
And one, a twisted munja cord.(59)
One in his joy an axe would find,
One braid, their plaited locks to bind.
One gave a sacrificial cup,
One rope to tie their fagots up;
While fuel at their feet was laid,
Or hermit’s stool of fig-tree made.
All gave, or if they gave not, none
Forgot at least a benison.
Some saints, delighted with their lays,
Would promise health and length of days;
Others with surest words would add
Some boon to make their spirit glad.
In such degree of honour then
That song was held by holy men:
That living song which life can give,
By which shall many a minstrel live.
In seat of kings, in crowded hall,
They sang the poem, praised of all.
And Ráma chanced to hear their lay,
While he the votive steed(60) would slay,
And sent fit messengers to bring
The minstrel pair before the king.
They came, and found the monarch high
Enthroned in gold, his brothers nigh;
While many a minister below,
And noble, sate in lengthened row.
The youthful pair awhile he viewed
Graceful in modest attitude,
And then in words like these addressed
His brother Lakshmaṇ and the rest:
“Come, listen to the wondrous strain
Recited by these godlike twain,
Sweet singers of a story fraught
With melody and lofty thought.”
The pair, with voices sweet and strong,
Rolled the full tide of noble song,
With tone and accent deftly blent
To suit the changing argument.
Mid that assembly loud and clear
Rang forth that lay so sweet to hear,
That universal rapture stole
Through each man’s frame and heart and soul.
“These minstrels, blest with every sign
That marks a high and princely line,
In holy shades who dwell,
Enshrined in Saint Válmíki’s lay,
A monument to live for aye,
My deeds in song shall tell.”
Thus Ráma spoke: their breasts were fired,
And the great tale, as if inspired,
The youths began to sing,
While every heart with transport swelled,
And mute and rapt attention held
The concourse and the king.
Canto V. Ayodhyá.
“Ikshváku’s sons from days of old
Were ever brave and mighty-souled.
The land their arms had made their own
Was bounded by the sea alone.
Their holy works have won them praise,
Through countless years, from Manu’s days.
Their ancient sire was Sagar, he
Whose high command dug out the sea:(61)
With sixty thousand sons to throng
Around him as he marched along.
From them this glorious tale proceeds:
The great Rámáyan tells their deeds.
This noble song whose lines contain
Lessons of duty, love, and gain,
We two will now at length recite,
While good men listen with delight.
On Sarjú’s(62) bank, of ample size,
The happy realm of Kośal lies,
With fertile length of fair champaign
And flocks and herds and wealth of grain.
There, famous in her old renown,
Ayodhyá(63) stands, the royal town,
In bygone ages built and planned
By sainted Manu’s(64) princely hand.
Imperial seat! her walls extend
Twelve measured leagues from end to end,
And three in width from side to side,
With square and palace beautified.
Her gates at even distance stand;
Her ample roads are wisely planned.
Right glorious is her royal street
Where streams allay the dust and heat.
On level ground in even row
Her houses rise in goodly show:
Terrace and palace, arch and gate
The queenly city decorate.
High are her ramparts, strong and vast,
By ways at even distance passed,
With circling moat, both deep and wide,
And store of weapons fortified.
King Daśaratha, lofty-souled,
That city guarded and controlled,
With towering Sál trees belted round,(65)
And many a grove and pleasure ground,
As royal Indra, throned on high,
Rules his fair city in the sky.(66)
She seems a painted city, fair
With chess-board line and even square.(67)
And cool boughs shade the lovely lake
Where weary men their thirst may slake.
There gilded chariots gleam and shine,
And stately piles the Gods enshrine.
There gay sleek people ever throng
To festival and dance and song.
A mine is she of gems and sheen,
The darling home of Fortune’s Queen.
With noblest sort of drink and meat,
The fairest rice and golden wheat,
And fragrant with the chaplet’s scent
With holy oil and incense blent.
With many an elephant and steed,
And wains for draught and cars for speed.
With envoys sent by distant kings,
And merchants with their precious things
With banners o’er her roofs that play,
And weapons that a hundred slay;(68)
All warlike engines framed by man,
And every class of artisan.
A city rich beyond compare
With bards and minstrels gathered there,
And men and damsels who entrance
The soul with play and song and dance.
In every street is heard the lute,
The drum, the tabret, and the flute,
The Veda chanted soft and low,
The ringing of the archer’s bow;
With bands of godlike heroes skilled
In every warlike weapon, filled,
And kept by warriors from the foe,
As Nágas guard their home below.(69)
There wisest Bráhmans evermore
The flame of worship feed,
And versed in all the Vedas’ lore,
Their lives of virtue lead.
Truthful and pure, they freely give;
They keep each sense controlled,
And in their holy fervour live
Like the great saints of old.
Canto VI. The King.
There reigned a king of name revered,
To country and to town endeared,
Great Daśaratha, good and sage,
Well read in Scripture’s holy page:
Upon his kingdom’s weal intent,
Mighty and brave and provident;
The pride of old Ikshváku’s seed
For lofty thought and righteous deed.
Peer of the saints, for virtues famed,
For foes subdued and passions tamed:
A rival in his wealth untold
Of Indra and the Lord of Gold.
Like Manu first of kings, he reigned,
And worthily his state maintained.
For firm and just and ever true
Love, duty, gain he kept in view,
And ruled his city rich and free,
Like Indra’s Amarávatí.
And worthy of so fair a place
There dwelt a just and happy race
With troops of children blest.
Each man contented sought no more,
Nor longed with envy for the store
By richer friends possessed.
For poverty was there unknown,
And each man counted as his own
Kine, steeds, and gold, and grain.
All dressed in raiment bright and clean,
And every townsman might be seen
With earrings, wreath, or chain.
None deigned to feed on broken fare,
And none was false or stingy there.
A piece of gold, the smallest pay,
Was earned by labour for a day.
On every arm were bracelets worn,
And none was faithless or forsworn,
A braggart or unkind.
None lived upon another’s wealth,
None pined with dread or broken health,
Or dark disease of mind.
High-souled were all. The slanderous word,
The boastful lie, were never heard.
Each man was constant to his vows,
And lived devoted to his spouse.
No other love his fancy knew,
And she was tender, kind, and true.
Her dames were fair of form and face,
With charm of wit and gentle grace,
With modest raiment simply neat,
And winning manners soft and sweet.
The twice-born sages, whose delight
Was Scripture’s page and holy rite,
Their calm and settled course pursued,
Nor sought the menial multitude.
In many a Scripture each was versed,
And each the flame of worship nursed,
And gave with lavish hand.
Each paid to Heaven the offerings due,
And none was godless or untrue
In all that holy band.
To Bráhmans, as the laws ordain,
The Warrior caste were ever fain
The reverence due to pay;
And these the Vaiśyas’ peaceful crowd,
Who trade and toil for gain, were proud
To honour and obey;
And all were by the Śúdras(70) served,
Who never from their duty swerved,
Their proper worship all addressed
To Bráhman, spirits, God, and guest.
Pure and unmixt their rites remained,
Their race’s honour ne’er was stained.(71)
Cheered by his grandsons, sons, and wife,
Each passed a long and happy life.
Thus was that famous city held
By one who all his race excelled,
Blest in his gentle reign,
As the whole land aforetime swayed
By Manu, prince of men, obeyed
Her king from main to main.
And heroes kept her, strong and brave,
As lions guard their mountain cave:
Fierce as devouring flame they burned,
And fought till death, but never turned.
Horses had she of noblest breed,
Like Indra’s for their form and speed,
From Váhlí’s(72) hills and Sindhu’s(73) sand,
Vanáyu(74) and Kámboja’s land.(75)
Her noble elephants had strayed
Through Vindhyan and Himálayan shade,
Gigantic in their bulk and height,
Yet gentle in their matchless might.
They rivalled well the world-spread fame
Of the great stock from which they came,
Of Váman, vast of size,
Of Mahápadma’s glorious line,
Thine, Anjan, and, Airávat, thine.(76)
Upholders of the skies.
With those, enrolled in fourfold class,
Who all their mighty kin surpass,
Whom men Matangas name,
And Mrigas spotted black and white,
And Bhadras of unwearied might,
And Mandras hard to tame.(77)
Thus, worthy of the name she bore,(78)
Ayodhyá for a league or more
Cast a bright glory round,
Where Daśaratha wise and great
Governed his fair ancestral state,
With every virtue crowned.
Like Indra in the skies he reigned
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Next - The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 03
- Parts
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 01Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3904Total number of unique words is 121938.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words55.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words64.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 02Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4666Total number of unique words is 153844.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 03Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4715Total number of unique words is 140448.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words69.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words78.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 04Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4762Total number of unique words is 140345.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 05Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4754Total number of unique words is 141747.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 06Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4752Total number of unique words is 140344.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 07Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4711Total number of unique words is 143946.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 08Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4724Total number of unique words is 142244.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 09Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4640Total number of unique words is 146543.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 10Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4760Total number of unique words is 136048.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 11Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4703Total number of unique words is 138543.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 12Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4772Total number of unique words is 146146.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 13Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4724Total number of unique words is 146946.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 14Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4899Total number of unique words is 146345.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 15Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4820Total number of unique words is 149143.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 16Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4877Total number of unique words is 146246.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 17Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4853Total number of unique words is 138047.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 18Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4929Total number of unique words is 137346.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 19Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4856Total number of unique words is 142146.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 20Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4846Total number of unique words is 137847.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 21Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4874Total number of unique words is 140647.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 22Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4811Total number of unique words is 134848.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 23Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4761Total number of unique words is 137948.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words68.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 24Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4936Total number of unique words is 148746.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 25Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4772Total number of unique words is 154145.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 26Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4808Total number of unique words is 144347.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words68.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 27Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4679Total number of unique words is 149844.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 28Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4761Total number of unique words is 143846.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 29Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4703Total number of unique words is 155941.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words60.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words70.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 30Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4867Total number of unique words is 142247.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words69.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words78.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 31Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4810Total number of unique words is 143246.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 32Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4709Total number of unique words is 137046.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 33Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4770Total number of unique words is 145745.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 34Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4780Total number of unique words is 138745.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 35Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4681Total number of unique words is 142843.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words71.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 36Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4759Total number of unique words is 153043.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 37Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4735Total number of unique words is 138442.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 38Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4759Total number of unique words is 145444.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 39Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4807Total number of unique words is 150444.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 40Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4878Total number of unique words is 143246.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 41Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4896Total number of unique words is 150045.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 42Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4900Total number of unique words is 147346.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 43Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4986Total number of unique words is 136346.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 44Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4868Total number of unique words is 139145.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 45Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4819Total number of unique words is 137646.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words67.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 46Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4755Total number of unique words is 141343.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 47Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4799Total number of unique words is 142745.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 48Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4940Total number of unique words is 135747.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words68.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words78.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 49Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4843Total number of unique words is 142445.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 50Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4911Total number of unique words is 142844.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 51Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4847Total number of unique words is 149446.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 52Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4791Total number of unique words is 155341.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.2 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 53Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4737Total number of unique words is 146243.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.2 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 54Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4644Total number of unique words is 140441.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words60.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words70.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 55Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4784Total number of unique words is 144944.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 56Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4792Total number of unique words is 145245.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 57Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4729Total number of unique words is 154340.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words61.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 58Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4881Total number of unique words is 150144.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 59Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4847Total number of unique words is 142144.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words75.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 60Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4776Total number of unique words is 153343.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words73.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 61Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4730Total number of unique words is 155343.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 62Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4760Total number of unique words is 140045.3 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words77.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 63Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4700Total number of unique words is 148341.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words61.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 64Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4757Total number of unique words is 145845.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 65Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4747Total number of unique words is 141945.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words65.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 66Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4718Total number of unique words is 134841.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.1 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 67Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4776Total number of unique words is 135645.7 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 68Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4778Total number of unique words is 142942.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.5 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 69Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4743Total number of unique words is 143642.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words63.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words74.1 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 70Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4794Total number of unique words is 137746.4 of words are in the 2000 most common words66.5 of words are in the 5000 most common words76.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 71Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4664Total number of unique words is 147243.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words62.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words71.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 72Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4581Total number of unique words is 211015.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words20.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words23.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 73Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4900Total number of unique words is 153840.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words58.6 of words are in the 5000 most common words67.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 74Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4757Total number of unique words is 155444.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words64.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words72.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 75Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4477Total number of unique words is 181933.6 of words are in the 2000 most common words48.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words54.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 76Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4533Total number of unique words is 160037.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words54.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words61.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 77Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 3914Total number of unique words is 141735.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words52.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words60.7 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 78Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 1809Total number of unique words is 113520.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words26.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words28.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 79Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4159Total number of unique words is 155634.1 of words are in the 2000 most common words49.7 of words are in the 5000 most common words56.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 80Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4149Total number of unique words is 148835.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.9 of words are in the 5000 most common words58.6 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 81Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4021Total number of unique words is 153936.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words59.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 82Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4137Total number of unique words is 153935.5 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.4 of words are in the 5000 most common words57.9 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 83Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4145Total number of unique words is 143835.0 of words are in the 2000 most common words51.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words57.3 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 84Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 4154Total number of unique words is 143936.9 of words are in the 2000 most common words55.0 of words are in the 5000 most common words62.0 of words are in the 8000 most common words
- The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 85Each bar represents the percentage of words per 1000 most common words.Total number of words is 2172Total number of unique words is 75838.2 of words are in the 2000 most common words50.8 of words are in the 5000 most common words57.4 of words are in the 8000 most common words