The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 60
Total number of words is 4776
Total number of unique words is 1533
43.8 of words are in the 2000 most common words
63.3 of words are in the 5000 most common words
73.8 of words are in the 8000 most common words
Of diamond and pearl and gold,
And priceless was each wondrous gem
That sparkled in his diadem.
About his neck rich chains were twined,
The best that fancy e’er designed,
And a fair robe with pearls bestrung
Down from his mighty shoulders hung.
Ten heads he reared,(880) as Mandar’s hill
Lifts woody peaks which tigers fill,
Bright were his eyes, and bright, beneath,
The flashes of his awful teeth.
His brawny arms of wondrous size
Were decked with rings and scented dyes.
His hands like snakes with five long heads
Descending from their mountain beds.
He sat upon a crystal throne
Inlaid with wealth of precious stone,
Whereon, of noblest work, was set
A gold-embroidered coverlet.
Behind the monarch stood the best
Of beauteous women gaily dressed,
And each her giant master fanned,
Or waved a chourie in her hand.
Four noble courtiers(881) wise and good
In counsel, near the monarch stood,
As the four oceans ever stand
About the sea-encompassed land.
Still, though his heart with rage was fired,
The Vánar marvelled and admired:
“O what a rare and wondrous sight!
What beauty, majesty, and might!
All regal pomp combines to grace
This ruler of the Rákshas race.
He, if he scorned not right and law,
Might guide the world with tempered awe:
Yea, Indra and the Gods on high
Might on his saving power rely.”
Canto L. Prahasta’s Questions.
Then fierce the giant’s fury blazed
As on Hanúmán’s form he gazed,
And shaken by each wild surmise
He spake aloud with flashing eyes:
“Can this be Nandi(882) standing here,
The mighty one whom all revere?
Who once on high Kailása’s hill
Pronounced the curse that haunts me still?
Or is the woodland creature one
Of Asur race, or Bali’s(883) son?
The wretch with searching question try:
Learn who he is, and whence; and why
He marred the glory of the grove,
And with my captains fiercely strove.”
Prahasta heard his lord’s behest,
And thus the Vánar chief addressed:
“O monkey stranger be consoled:
Fear not, and let thy heart be bold.
If thou by Indra’s mandate sent
Thy steps to Lanká’s isle hast bent,
With fearless words the cause explain,
And freedom thou shalt soon regain.
Or if thou comest as a spy
Despatched by Vishṇu in the sky,
Or sent by Yáma, or the Lord
Of Riches, hast our town explored;
Proved by the prowess thou hast shown
No monkey save in form alone;
Speak boldly all the truth, and be
Released from bonds, unharmed and free.
But falsehood spoken to our king
Swift punishment of death will bring.”
He ceased: the Vánar made reply;
“Not Indra’s messenger am I,
Nor came I hither to fulfil
Kuvera’s hest or Vishṇu’s will.
I stand before the giants here
A Vánar e’en as I appear.
I longed to see the king: ’twas hard
To win my way through gate and guard.
And so to gain my wish I laid
In ruin that delightful shade.
No fiend, no God of heavenly kind
With bond or chain these limbs may bind.
The Eternal Sire himself of old
Vouchsafed the boon that makes me bold,
From Brahmá’s magic shaft released(884)
I knew the captor’s power had ceased,
The fancied bonds I freely brooked,
And thus upon the king have looked.
My way to Lanká have I won,
A messenger from Raghu’s son.”
Canto LI. Hanumán’s Reply.
“My king Sugríva greets thee fair,
And bids me thus his rede declare.
Son of the God of Wind, by name
Hanumán, to this isle I came.
To set the Maithil lady free
I crossed the barrier of the sea.
I roamed in search of her and found
Her weeping in that lovely ground.
Thou in the lore of duty trained,
Who hast by stern devotion gained
This wondrous wealth and power and fame
Shouldst fear to wrong another’s dame.
Hear thou my counsel, and be wise:
No fiend, no dweller in the skies
Can bear the shafts by Lakshmaṇ shot,
Or Ráma when his wrath is hot.
O Giant King, repent the crime
And soothe him while there yet is time.
Now be the Maithil queen restored
Uninjured to her sorrowing lord.
Soon wilt thou rue thy dire mistake:
She is no woman but a snake,
Whose very deadly bite will be
The ruin of thy house and thee.
Thy pride has led thy thoughts astray,
That fancy not a hand may slay
The monarch of the giants, screened
From mortal blow of God and fiend.
Sugríva still thy death may be:
No Yaksha, fiend, or God is he,
And Ráma from a woman springs,
The mortal seed of mortal kings.
O think how Báli fell subdued;
Think on thy slaughtered multitude.
Respect those brave and strong allies;
Consult thy safety, and be wise.
I, even I, no helper need
To overthrow, with car and steed,
Thy city Lanká half divine:
The power but not the will is mine.
For Raghu’s son, before his friend
The Vánar monarch, swore to end
With his own conquering arm the life
Of him who stole his darling wife.
Turn, and be wise, O Rávaṇ turn;
Or thou wilt see thy Lanká burn,
And with thy wives, friends, kith and kin
Be ruined for thy senseless sin.”
Canto LII. Vibhishan’s Speech.
Then Rávaṇ spake with flashing eye:
“Hence with the Vánar: let him die.”
Vibhishaṇ heard the stern behest,
And pondered in his troubled breast;
Then, trained in arts that soothe and please
Addressed the king in words like these:
“Revoke, my lord, thy fierce decree,
And hear the words I speak to thee.
Kings wise and noble ne’er condemn
To death the envoys sent to them.
Such deed the world’s contempt would draw
On him who breaks the ancient law.(885)
Observe the mean where justice lies,
And spare his life but still chastise.”
Then forth the tyrant’s fury broke,
And thus in angry words he spoke:
“O hero, when the wicked bleed
No sin or shame attends the deed.
The Vánar’s blood must needs be spilt,
The penalty of heinous guilt.”
Again Vibhishaṇ made reply:
“Nay, hear me, for he must not die.
Hear the great law the wise declare:
“Thy foeman’s envoy thou shalt spare.”
’Tis true he comes an open foe:
’Tis true his hands have wrought us woe,
But law allows thee, if thou wilt,
A punishment to suit the guilt.
The mark of shame, the scourge, the brand,
The shaven head, the wounded hand.
Yea, were the Vánar envoy slain,
Where, King of giants, were the gain?
On them alone, on them who sent
The message, be the punishment.
For spake he well or spake he ill,
He spake obedient to their will,
And, if he perish, who can bear
Thy challenge to the royal pair?
Who, cross the ocean and incite
Thy death-doomed enemies to fight?”
Canto LIII. The Punishment.
King Rávaṇ, by his pleading moved,
The counsel of the chief approved:
“Thy words are wise and true: to kill
An envoy would beseem us ill.
Yet must we for his crime invent
Some fitting mode of punishment.
The tail, I fancy, is the part
Most cherished by a monkey’s heart.
Make ready: set his tail aflame,
And let him leave us as he came,
And thus disfigured and disgraced
Back to his king and people haste.”
The giants heard their monarch’s speech;
And, filled with burning fury, each
Brought strips of cotton cloth, and round
The monkey’s tail the bandage wound.
As round his tail the bands they drew
His mighty form dilating grew
Vast as the flame that bursts on high
Where trees are old and grass is dry.
Each band and strip they soaked in oil,
And set on fire the twisted coil.
Delighted as they viewed the blaze,
The cruel demons stood at gaze:
And mid loud drums and shells rang out
The triumph of their joyful shout.
They pressed about him thick and fast
As through the crowded streets he passed,
Observing with attentive care
Each rich and wondrous structure there,
Still heedless of the eager cry
That rent the air, The spy! the spy!
Some to the captive lady ran,
And thus in joyous words began:
“That copper-visaged monkey, he
Who in the garden talked with thee,
Through Lanká’s town is led a show,
And round his tail the red flames glow.”
The mournful news the lady heard
That with fresh grief her bosom stirred.
Swift to the kindled fire she went
And prayed before it reverent:
“If I my husband have obeyed,
And kept the ascetic vows I made,
Free, ever free, from stain and blot,
O spare the Vánar; harm him not.”
Then leapt on high the flickering flame
And shone in answer to the dame.
The pitying fire its rage forbore:
The Vánar felt the heat no more.
Then, to minutest size reduced,
The bonds that bound his limbs he loosed,
And, freed from every band and chain,
Rose to his native size again.
He seized a club of ponderous weight
That lay before him by the gate,
Rushed at the fiends that hemmed him round,
And laid them lifeless on the ground.
Through Lanká’s town again he strode,
And viewed each street and square and road,—
Still wreathed about with harmless blaze,
A sun engarlanded with rays.
Canto LIV. The Burning Of Lanká.
“What further deed remains to do
To vex the Rákshas king anew?
The beauty of his grove is marred,
Killed are the bravest of his guard.
The captains of his host are slain;
But forts and palaces remain,
Swift is the work and light the toil
Each fortress of the foe to spoil.”
Reflecting thus, his tail ablaze
As through the cloud red lightning plays,
He scaled the palaces and spread
The conflagration where he sped.
From house to house he hurried on,
And the wild flames behind him shone.
Each mansion of the foe he scaled,
And furious fire its roof assailed
Till all the common ruin shared:
Vibhishaṇ’s house alone was spared.
From blazing pile to pile he sprang,
And loud his shout of triumph rang,
As roars the doomsday cloud when all
The worlds in dissolution fall.
The friendly wind conspired to fan
The hungry flames that leapt and ran,
And spreading in their fury caught
The gilded walls with pearls inwrought,
Till each proud palace reeled and fell
As falls a heavenly citadel.
Loud was the roar the demons raised
Mid walls that split and beams that blazed,
As each with vain endeavour strove
To stay the flames in house or grove.
The women, with dishevelled hair,
Flocked to the roofs in wild despair,
Shrieked out for succour, wept aloud,
And fell, like lightning from a cloud.
He saw the flames ascend and curl
Round turkis, diamond, and pearl,
While silver floods and molten gold
From ruined wall and latice rolled.
As fire grows fiercer as he feeds
On wood and grass and crackling reeds,
So Hanúmán the ruin eyed
With fury still unsatisfied.
Canto LV. Fear For Sítá.
But other thoughts resumed their sway
When Lanká’s town in ruin lay;
And, as his bosom felt their weight
He stood a while to meditate.
“What have I done?”, he thought with shame,
“Destroyed the town with hostile flame.
O happy they whose firm control
Checks the wild passion of the soul;
Who on the fires of anger throw
The cooling drops that check their glow.
But woe is me, whom wrath could lead
To do this senseless shameless deed.
The town to fire and death I gave,
Nor thought of her I came to save,—
Doomed by my own rash folly, doomed
To perish in the flames consumed.
If I, when anger drove me wild,
Have caused the death of Janak’s child,
The kindled flame shall end my woe,
Or the deep fires that burn below,(886)
Or my forsaken corse shall be
Food for the monsters of the sea.
How can I meet Sugríva? how
Before the royal brothers bow,—
I whose rash deed has madly foiled,
The noble work in which we toiled?
Or has her own bright virtue shed
Its guardian influence round her head?
She lives untouched,—the peerless dame;
Flame has no fury for the flame.(887)
The very fire would ne’er consent
To harm a queen so excellent,—
The high-souled Ráma’s faithful wife,
Protected by her holy life.
She lives, she lives. Why should I fear
For one whom Raghu’s sons hold dear?
Has not the pitying fire that spared
The Vánar for the lady cared?”
Such were his thoughts: he pondered long,
And fear grew faint and hope grew strong.
Then round him heavenly voices rang,
And, sweetly tuned, his praises sang:
“O glorious is the exploit done
By Hanumán the Wind-God’s son.
The flames o’er Lanká’s city rise:
The giants’ home in ruin lies.
O’er roof and wall the fires have spread,
Nor harmed a hair of Sítá’s head.”
Canto LVI. Mount Arishta.
He looked upon the burning waste,
Then sought the queen in joyous haste,
With words of hope consoled her heart,
And made him ready to depart.
He scaled Arishṭa’s glorious steep
Whose summits beetled o’er the deep.
The woods in varied beauty dressed
Hung like a garland round his crest,
And clouds of ever changing hue
A robe about his shoulders threw.
On him the rays of morning fell
To wake the hill they loved so well,
And bid unclose those splendid eyes
That glittered in his mineral dyes.
He woke to hear the music made
By thunders of the white cascade,
While every laughing rill that sprang
From crag to crag its carol sang.
For arms, he lifted to the stars
His towering stems of Deodárs,
And morning heard his pealing call
In tumbling brook and waterfall.
He trembled when his woods were pale
And bowed beneath the autumn gale,
And when his vocal reeds were stirred
His melancholy moan was heard.
Far down against the mountain’s feet
The Vánar heard the wild waves beat;
Then turned his glances to the north.
Sprang from the peak and bounded forth,
The mountain felt the fearful shock
And trembled through his mass of rock.
The tallest trees were crushed and rent
And headlong to the valley sent,
And as the rocking shook each cave
Loud was the roar the lions gave.
Forth from the shaken cavern came
Fierce serpents with their tongues aflame;
And every Yaksha, wild with dread,
And Kinnar and Gandharva, fled.
Canto LVII. Hanumán’s Return.
Still, like a winged mountain, he
Sprang forward through the airy sea,(888)
And rushing through the ether drew
The clouds to follow as he flew,
Through the great host around him spread,
Grey, golden, dark, and white, and red.
Now in a sable cloud immersed,
Now from its gloomy pall he burst,
Like the bright Lord of Stars concealed
A moment, and again revealed.
Sunábha(889) passed, he neared the coast
Where waited still the Vánar host.
They heard a rushing in the skies,
And lifted up their wondering eyes.
His wild triumphant shout they knew
That louder still and louder grew,
And Jámbaván with eager voice
Called on the Vánars to rejoice:
“Look he returns, the Wind-God’s son,
And full success his toils have won;
Triumphant is the shout that comes
Like music of a thousand drums.”
Up sprang the Vánars from the ground
And listened to the wondrous sound
Of hurtling arm and thigh as through
The region of the air he flew,
Loud as the wind, when tempests rave,
Roars in the prison of the cave.
From crag to crag, from height to height;
They bounded in their mad delight,
And when he touched the mountain’s crest,
With reverent welcome round him pressed.
They brought him of their woodland fruits,
They brought him of the choicest roots,
And laughed and shouted in their glee
The noblest of their chiefs to see.
Nor Hanumán delayed to greet
Sage Jámbaván with reverence meet;
To Angad and the chiefs he bent
For age and rank preëminent,
And briefly spoke: “These eyes have seen,
These lips addressed, the Maithil queen.”
They sat beneath the waving trees,
And Angad spoke in words like these:
“O noblest of the Vánar kind
For valour power and might combined,
To thee triumphant o’er the foe
Our hopes, our lives and all we owe.
O faithful heart in perils tried,
Which toil nor fear could turn aside,
Thy deed the lady will restore,
And Ráma’s heart will ache no more.”(890)
Canto LVIII. The Feast Of Honey.
They rose in air: the region grew
Dark with their shadow as they flew.
Swift to a lovely grove(891) they came
That rivalled heavenly Nandan’s(892) fame;
Where countless bees their honey stored,—
The pleasance of the Vánars’ lord,
To every creature fenced and barred,
Which Dadhimukh was set to guard,
A noble Vánar, brave and bold,
Sugríva’s uncle lofty-souled.
To Angad came with one accord
The Vánars, and besought their lord
That they those honeyed stores might eat
That made the grove so passing sweet.
He gave consent: they sought the trees
Thronged with innumerable bees.
They rifled all the treasured store,
And ate the fruit the branches bore,
And still as they prolonged the feast
Their merriment and joy increased.
Drunk with the sweets, they danced and bowed,
They wildly sang, they laughed aloud,
Some climbed and sprang from tree to tree,
Some sat and chattered in their glee.
Some scaled the trees which creepers crowned,
And rained the branches to the ground.
There with loud laugh a Vánar sprang
Close to his friend who madly sang,
In doleful mood another crept
To mix his tears with one who wept.
Then Dadhimukh with fury viewed
The intoxicated multitude.
He looked upon the rifled shade,
And all the ruin they had made;
Then called with angry voice, and strove
To save the remnant of the grove.
But warning cries and words were spurned,
And angry taunt and threat returned.
Then fierce and wild contention rose:
With furious words he mingled blows.
They by no shame or fear withheld,
By drunken mood and ire impelled,
Used claws, and teeth, and hands, and beat
The keeper under trampling feet.
[Three Cantos consisting of little but repetitions are omitted. Dadhimukh
escapes from the infuriated monkeys and hastens to Sugríva to report their
misconduct. Sugríva infers that Hanumán and his band have been successful
in their search, and that the exuberance of spirits and the mischief
complained of, are but the natural expression of their joy. Dadhimukh
obtains little sympathy from Sugríva, and is told to return and send the
monkeys on with all possible speed.]
Canto LXV. The Tidings.
On to Praśravaṇ’s hill they sped
Where blooming trees their branches spread.
To Raghu’s sons their heads they bent
And did obeisance reverent.
Then to their king, by Angad led,
Each Vánar chieftain bowed his head;
And Hanumán the brave and bold
His tidings to the monarch told;
But first in Ráma’s hand he placed
The gem that Sítá’s brow had graced:
“I crossed the sea: I searched a while
For Sítá in the giants’ isle.
I found her vext with taunt and threat
By demon guards about her set.
Her tresses twined in single braid,
On the bare earth her limbs were laid.
Sad were her eyes: her cheeks were pale
As shuddering flowers in winter’s gale.
I stood beside the weeping dame,
And gently whispered Ráma’s name:
With cheering words her grief consoled,
And then the whole adventure told.
She weeps afar beyond the sea,
And her true heart is still with thee.
She gave a sign that thou wouldst know,
She bids thee think upon the crow,
And bright mark pressed upon her brow
When none was nigh but she and thou.
She bids thee take this precious stone,
The sea-born gem thou long hast known.
“And I,” she said, “will dull the sting
Of woe by gazing on the ring.
One little month shall I sustain
This life oppressed with woe and pain:
And when the month is ended, I
The giants’ prey must surely die.’ ”
Canto LXVI. Ráma’s Speech.
There ceased the Vánar: Ráma pressed
The treasured jewel to his breast,
And from his eyes the waters broke
As to the Vánar king he spoke:
“As o’er her babe the mother weeps,
This flood of tears the jewel steeps.
This gem that shone on Sítá’s head
Was Janak’s gift when we were wed,
And the pure brow that wore it lent
New splendour to the ornament.
This gem, bright offspring of the wave,
The King of Heaven to Janak gave,
Whose noble sacrificial rite
Had filled the God with new delight.
Now, as I gaze upon the prize,
Methinks I see my father’s eyes.
Methinks I see before me stand
The ruler of Videha’s land.(893)
Methinks mine arms are folded now
Round her who wore it on her brow.
Speak, Hanumán, O say, dear friend,
What message did my darling send?
O speak, and let thy words impart
Their gentle dew to cool my heart.
Ah, ’tis the crown of woe to see
This gem and ask “Where, where is she?”
If for one month her heart be strong,
Her days of life will yet be long.
But I, with naught to lend relief,
This very day must die of grief.
Come, Hanumán, and quickly guide
The mourner to his darling’s side.
O lead me—thou hast learnt the way—
I cannot and I will not stay.
How can my gentle love endure,
So timid, delicate, and pure,
The dreadful demons fierce and vile
Who watch her in the guarded isle?
No more the light of beauty shines
From Sítá as she weeps and pines.
But pain and sorrow, cloud on cloud
Her moonlight glory dim and shroud.
O speak, dear Hanumán, and tell
Each word that from her sweet lips fell,
Her words, her words alone can give
The healing balm to make me live.”(894)
BOOK VI.(895)
Canto I. Ráma’s Speech.
The son of Raghu heard, consoled,
The wondrous tale Hanumán told;
And, as his joyous hope grew high,
In friendly words he made reply:
“Behold a mighty task achieved,
Which never heart but his conceived.
Who else across the sea can spring,
Save Váyu(896) and the Feathered King?(897)
Who, pass the portals strong and high
Which Nágas,(898) Gods, and fiends defy,
Where Rávaṇ’s hosts their station keep,—
And come uninjured o’er the deep?
By such a deed the Wind-God’s son
Good service to the king has done,
And saved from ruin and disgrace
Lakshmaṇ and me and Raghu’s race.
Well has he planned and bravely fought,
And with due care my lady sought.
But of the sea I sadly think,
And the sweet hopes that cheered me sink.
How can we cross the leagues of foam
That keep us from the giant’s home?
What can the Vánar legions more
Than muster on the ocean shore?”
Canto II. Sugríva’s Speech.
He ceased: and King Sugríva tried
To calm his grief, and thus replied:
“’Be to thy nobler nature true,
Nor let despair thy soul subdue.
This cloud of causeless woe dispel,
For all as yet has prospered well,
And we have traced thy queen, and know
The dwelling of our Rákshas foe.
Arise, consult: thy task must be
To cast a bridge athwart the sea,
The city of our foe to reach
That crowns the mountain by the beach;
And when our feet that isle shall tread,
Rejoice and deem thy foeman dead.
The sea unbridged, his walls defy
Both fiends and children of the sky,
Though at the fierce battalions’ head
Lord Indra’s self the onset led.
Yea, victory is thine before
The long bridge touch the farther shore,
So fleet and fierce and strong are these
Who limb them as their fancies please.
Away with grief and sad surmise
That mar the noblest enterprise,
And with their weak suspicion blight
The sage’s plan, the hero’s might.
Come, this degenerate weakness spurn,
And bid thy dauntless heart return,
For each fair hope by grief is crossed
When those we love are dead or lost.
Arise, O best of those who know,
Arm for the giant’s overthrow.
None in the triple world I see
Who in the fight may equal thee;
None who before thy face may stand
And brave the bow that arms thy hand,
Trust to these mighty Vánars: they
With full success thy trust will pay,
When thou shalt reach the robber’s hold,
And loving arms round Sítá fold.”
Canto III. Lanká.
He ceased: and Raghu’s son gave heed,
Attentive to his prudent rede:
Then turned again, with hope inspired,
To Hanumán, and thus inquired:
“Light were the task for thee, I ween,
To bridge the sea that gleams between
The mainland and the island shore.
Or dry the deep and guide as o’er.
Fain would I learn from thee whose feet
Have trod the stones of every street,
Of fenced Lanká’s towers and forts,
And walls and moats and guarded ports,
And castles where the giants dwell,
And battlemented citadel.
O Váyu’s son, describe it all,
With palace, fort, and gate, and wall.”
He ceased: and, skilled in arts that guide
The eloquent, the chief replied:
“Vast is the city, gay and strong,
Where elephants unnumbered throng,
And countless hosts of Rákshas breed
Stand ready by the car and steed.
Four massive gates, securely barred,
All entrance to the city guard,
With murderous engines fixt to throw
Bolt, arrow, rock to check the foe,
And many a mace with iron head
That strikes at once a hundred dead.
Her golden ramparts wide and high
With massy strength the foe defy,
Where inner walls their rich inlay
Of coral, turkis, pearl display.
Her circling moats are broad and deep,
Where ravening monsters dart and leap.
By four great piers each moat is spanned
Where lines of deadly engines stand.
In sleepless watch at every gate
Unnumbered hosts of giants wait,
And, masters of each weapon, rear
The threatening pike and sword and spear.
My fury hurled those ramparts down,
Filled up the moats that gird the town,
The piers and portals overturned,
And stately Lanká spoiled and burned.
Howe’er we Vánars force our way
O’er the wide seat of Varuṇ’s(899) sway,
Be sure that city of the foe
Is doomed to sudden overthrow,
Nay, why so vast an army lead?
Brave Angad, Dwivid good at need,
Fierce Mainda, Panas famed in fight,
And Níla’s skill and Nala’s might,
And Jámbaván the strong and wise,
Will dare the easy enterprise.
Assailed by these shall Lanká fall
With gate and rampart, tower and wall.
Command the gathering, chief: and they
In happy hour will haste away.”
Canto IV. The March.
He ceased; and spurred by warlike pride
The impetuous son of Raghu cried:
“Soon shall mine arm with wrathful joy
That city of the foe destroy.
Now, chieftain, now collect the host,
And onward to the southern coast!
The sun in his meridian tower
Gives glory to the Vánar power.
The demon lord who stole my queen
By timely flight his life may screen.
She, when she knows her lord is near,
Will cling to hope and banish fear,
Saved like a dying wretch who sips
The drink of Gods with fevered lips.
Arise, thy troops to battle lead:
All happy omens counsel speed.
The Lord of Stars in favouring skies
Bodes glory to our enterprise.
This arm shall slay the fiend; and she,
My consort, shall again be free.
Mine upward-throbbing eye foreshows
The longed-for triumph o’er my foes.
Far in the van be Níla’s post,
To scan the pathway for the host,
And let thy bravest and thy best,
A hundred thousand, wait his hest.
Go forth, O warrior Níla, lead
The legions on through wood and mead
Where pleasant waters cool the ground,
And honey, flowers, and fruit abound.
Go, and with timely care prevent
The Rákshas foeman’s dark intent.
With watchful troops each valley guard
Ere brooks and fruits and roots be marred
And search each glen and leafy shade
For hostile troops in ambuscade.
But let the weaklings stay behind:
For heroes is our task designed.
Let thousands of the Vánar breed
The vanguard of the armies lead:
Fierce and terrific must it be
As billows of the stormy sea.
There be the hill-huge Gaja’s place,
And Gavaya’s, strongest of his race,
And, like the bull that leads the herd,
Gaváksha’s, by no fears deterred
Let Rishabh, matchless in the might
Of warlike arms, protect our right,
And Gandhamádan next in rank
Defend and guide the other flank.
And priceless was each wondrous gem
That sparkled in his diadem.
About his neck rich chains were twined,
The best that fancy e’er designed,
And a fair robe with pearls bestrung
Down from his mighty shoulders hung.
Ten heads he reared,(880) as Mandar’s hill
Lifts woody peaks which tigers fill,
Bright were his eyes, and bright, beneath,
The flashes of his awful teeth.
His brawny arms of wondrous size
Were decked with rings and scented dyes.
His hands like snakes with five long heads
Descending from their mountain beds.
He sat upon a crystal throne
Inlaid with wealth of precious stone,
Whereon, of noblest work, was set
A gold-embroidered coverlet.
Behind the monarch stood the best
Of beauteous women gaily dressed,
And each her giant master fanned,
Or waved a chourie in her hand.
Four noble courtiers(881) wise and good
In counsel, near the monarch stood,
As the four oceans ever stand
About the sea-encompassed land.
Still, though his heart with rage was fired,
The Vánar marvelled and admired:
“O what a rare and wondrous sight!
What beauty, majesty, and might!
All regal pomp combines to grace
This ruler of the Rákshas race.
He, if he scorned not right and law,
Might guide the world with tempered awe:
Yea, Indra and the Gods on high
Might on his saving power rely.”
Canto L. Prahasta’s Questions.
Then fierce the giant’s fury blazed
As on Hanúmán’s form he gazed,
And shaken by each wild surmise
He spake aloud with flashing eyes:
“Can this be Nandi(882) standing here,
The mighty one whom all revere?
Who once on high Kailása’s hill
Pronounced the curse that haunts me still?
Or is the woodland creature one
Of Asur race, or Bali’s(883) son?
The wretch with searching question try:
Learn who he is, and whence; and why
He marred the glory of the grove,
And with my captains fiercely strove.”
Prahasta heard his lord’s behest,
And thus the Vánar chief addressed:
“O monkey stranger be consoled:
Fear not, and let thy heart be bold.
If thou by Indra’s mandate sent
Thy steps to Lanká’s isle hast bent,
With fearless words the cause explain,
And freedom thou shalt soon regain.
Or if thou comest as a spy
Despatched by Vishṇu in the sky,
Or sent by Yáma, or the Lord
Of Riches, hast our town explored;
Proved by the prowess thou hast shown
No monkey save in form alone;
Speak boldly all the truth, and be
Released from bonds, unharmed and free.
But falsehood spoken to our king
Swift punishment of death will bring.”
He ceased: the Vánar made reply;
“Not Indra’s messenger am I,
Nor came I hither to fulfil
Kuvera’s hest or Vishṇu’s will.
I stand before the giants here
A Vánar e’en as I appear.
I longed to see the king: ’twas hard
To win my way through gate and guard.
And so to gain my wish I laid
In ruin that delightful shade.
No fiend, no God of heavenly kind
With bond or chain these limbs may bind.
The Eternal Sire himself of old
Vouchsafed the boon that makes me bold,
From Brahmá’s magic shaft released(884)
I knew the captor’s power had ceased,
The fancied bonds I freely brooked,
And thus upon the king have looked.
My way to Lanká have I won,
A messenger from Raghu’s son.”
Canto LI. Hanumán’s Reply.
“My king Sugríva greets thee fair,
And bids me thus his rede declare.
Son of the God of Wind, by name
Hanumán, to this isle I came.
To set the Maithil lady free
I crossed the barrier of the sea.
I roamed in search of her and found
Her weeping in that lovely ground.
Thou in the lore of duty trained,
Who hast by stern devotion gained
This wondrous wealth and power and fame
Shouldst fear to wrong another’s dame.
Hear thou my counsel, and be wise:
No fiend, no dweller in the skies
Can bear the shafts by Lakshmaṇ shot,
Or Ráma when his wrath is hot.
O Giant King, repent the crime
And soothe him while there yet is time.
Now be the Maithil queen restored
Uninjured to her sorrowing lord.
Soon wilt thou rue thy dire mistake:
She is no woman but a snake,
Whose very deadly bite will be
The ruin of thy house and thee.
Thy pride has led thy thoughts astray,
That fancy not a hand may slay
The monarch of the giants, screened
From mortal blow of God and fiend.
Sugríva still thy death may be:
No Yaksha, fiend, or God is he,
And Ráma from a woman springs,
The mortal seed of mortal kings.
O think how Báli fell subdued;
Think on thy slaughtered multitude.
Respect those brave and strong allies;
Consult thy safety, and be wise.
I, even I, no helper need
To overthrow, with car and steed,
Thy city Lanká half divine:
The power but not the will is mine.
For Raghu’s son, before his friend
The Vánar monarch, swore to end
With his own conquering arm the life
Of him who stole his darling wife.
Turn, and be wise, O Rávaṇ turn;
Or thou wilt see thy Lanká burn,
And with thy wives, friends, kith and kin
Be ruined for thy senseless sin.”
Canto LII. Vibhishan’s Speech.
Then Rávaṇ spake with flashing eye:
“Hence with the Vánar: let him die.”
Vibhishaṇ heard the stern behest,
And pondered in his troubled breast;
Then, trained in arts that soothe and please
Addressed the king in words like these:
“Revoke, my lord, thy fierce decree,
And hear the words I speak to thee.
Kings wise and noble ne’er condemn
To death the envoys sent to them.
Such deed the world’s contempt would draw
On him who breaks the ancient law.(885)
Observe the mean where justice lies,
And spare his life but still chastise.”
Then forth the tyrant’s fury broke,
And thus in angry words he spoke:
“O hero, when the wicked bleed
No sin or shame attends the deed.
The Vánar’s blood must needs be spilt,
The penalty of heinous guilt.”
Again Vibhishaṇ made reply:
“Nay, hear me, for he must not die.
Hear the great law the wise declare:
“Thy foeman’s envoy thou shalt spare.”
’Tis true he comes an open foe:
’Tis true his hands have wrought us woe,
But law allows thee, if thou wilt,
A punishment to suit the guilt.
The mark of shame, the scourge, the brand,
The shaven head, the wounded hand.
Yea, were the Vánar envoy slain,
Where, King of giants, were the gain?
On them alone, on them who sent
The message, be the punishment.
For spake he well or spake he ill,
He spake obedient to their will,
And, if he perish, who can bear
Thy challenge to the royal pair?
Who, cross the ocean and incite
Thy death-doomed enemies to fight?”
Canto LIII. The Punishment.
King Rávaṇ, by his pleading moved,
The counsel of the chief approved:
“Thy words are wise and true: to kill
An envoy would beseem us ill.
Yet must we for his crime invent
Some fitting mode of punishment.
The tail, I fancy, is the part
Most cherished by a monkey’s heart.
Make ready: set his tail aflame,
And let him leave us as he came,
And thus disfigured and disgraced
Back to his king and people haste.”
The giants heard their monarch’s speech;
And, filled with burning fury, each
Brought strips of cotton cloth, and round
The monkey’s tail the bandage wound.
As round his tail the bands they drew
His mighty form dilating grew
Vast as the flame that bursts on high
Where trees are old and grass is dry.
Each band and strip they soaked in oil,
And set on fire the twisted coil.
Delighted as they viewed the blaze,
The cruel demons stood at gaze:
And mid loud drums and shells rang out
The triumph of their joyful shout.
They pressed about him thick and fast
As through the crowded streets he passed,
Observing with attentive care
Each rich and wondrous structure there,
Still heedless of the eager cry
That rent the air, The spy! the spy!
Some to the captive lady ran,
And thus in joyous words began:
“That copper-visaged monkey, he
Who in the garden talked with thee,
Through Lanká’s town is led a show,
And round his tail the red flames glow.”
The mournful news the lady heard
That with fresh grief her bosom stirred.
Swift to the kindled fire she went
And prayed before it reverent:
“If I my husband have obeyed,
And kept the ascetic vows I made,
Free, ever free, from stain and blot,
O spare the Vánar; harm him not.”
Then leapt on high the flickering flame
And shone in answer to the dame.
The pitying fire its rage forbore:
The Vánar felt the heat no more.
Then, to minutest size reduced,
The bonds that bound his limbs he loosed,
And, freed from every band and chain,
Rose to his native size again.
He seized a club of ponderous weight
That lay before him by the gate,
Rushed at the fiends that hemmed him round,
And laid them lifeless on the ground.
Through Lanká’s town again he strode,
And viewed each street and square and road,—
Still wreathed about with harmless blaze,
A sun engarlanded with rays.
Canto LIV. The Burning Of Lanká.
“What further deed remains to do
To vex the Rákshas king anew?
The beauty of his grove is marred,
Killed are the bravest of his guard.
The captains of his host are slain;
But forts and palaces remain,
Swift is the work and light the toil
Each fortress of the foe to spoil.”
Reflecting thus, his tail ablaze
As through the cloud red lightning plays,
He scaled the palaces and spread
The conflagration where he sped.
From house to house he hurried on,
And the wild flames behind him shone.
Each mansion of the foe he scaled,
And furious fire its roof assailed
Till all the common ruin shared:
Vibhishaṇ’s house alone was spared.
From blazing pile to pile he sprang,
And loud his shout of triumph rang,
As roars the doomsday cloud when all
The worlds in dissolution fall.
The friendly wind conspired to fan
The hungry flames that leapt and ran,
And spreading in their fury caught
The gilded walls with pearls inwrought,
Till each proud palace reeled and fell
As falls a heavenly citadel.
Loud was the roar the demons raised
Mid walls that split and beams that blazed,
As each with vain endeavour strove
To stay the flames in house or grove.
The women, with dishevelled hair,
Flocked to the roofs in wild despair,
Shrieked out for succour, wept aloud,
And fell, like lightning from a cloud.
He saw the flames ascend and curl
Round turkis, diamond, and pearl,
While silver floods and molten gold
From ruined wall and latice rolled.
As fire grows fiercer as he feeds
On wood and grass and crackling reeds,
So Hanúmán the ruin eyed
With fury still unsatisfied.
Canto LV. Fear For Sítá.
But other thoughts resumed their sway
When Lanká’s town in ruin lay;
And, as his bosom felt their weight
He stood a while to meditate.
“What have I done?”, he thought with shame,
“Destroyed the town with hostile flame.
O happy they whose firm control
Checks the wild passion of the soul;
Who on the fires of anger throw
The cooling drops that check their glow.
But woe is me, whom wrath could lead
To do this senseless shameless deed.
The town to fire and death I gave,
Nor thought of her I came to save,—
Doomed by my own rash folly, doomed
To perish in the flames consumed.
If I, when anger drove me wild,
Have caused the death of Janak’s child,
The kindled flame shall end my woe,
Or the deep fires that burn below,(886)
Or my forsaken corse shall be
Food for the monsters of the sea.
How can I meet Sugríva? how
Before the royal brothers bow,—
I whose rash deed has madly foiled,
The noble work in which we toiled?
Or has her own bright virtue shed
Its guardian influence round her head?
She lives untouched,—the peerless dame;
Flame has no fury for the flame.(887)
The very fire would ne’er consent
To harm a queen so excellent,—
The high-souled Ráma’s faithful wife,
Protected by her holy life.
She lives, she lives. Why should I fear
For one whom Raghu’s sons hold dear?
Has not the pitying fire that spared
The Vánar for the lady cared?”
Such were his thoughts: he pondered long,
And fear grew faint and hope grew strong.
Then round him heavenly voices rang,
And, sweetly tuned, his praises sang:
“O glorious is the exploit done
By Hanumán the Wind-God’s son.
The flames o’er Lanká’s city rise:
The giants’ home in ruin lies.
O’er roof and wall the fires have spread,
Nor harmed a hair of Sítá’s head.”
Canto LVI. Mount Arishta.
He looked upon the burning waste,
Then sought the queen in joyous haste,
With words of hope consoled her heart,
And made him ready to depart.
He scaled Arishṭa’s glorious steep
Whose summits beetled o’er the deep.
The woods in varied beauty dressed
Hung like a garland round his crest,
And clouds of ever changing hue
A robe about his shoulders threw.
On him the rays of morning fell
To wake the hill they loved so well,
And bid unclose those splendid eyes
That glittered in his mineral dyes.
He woke to hear the music made
By thunders of the white cascade,
While every laughing rill that sprang
From crag to crag its carol sang.
For arms, he lifted to the stars
His towering stems of Deodárs,
And morning heard his pealing call
In tumbling brook and waterfall.
He trembled when his woods were pale
And bowed beneath the autumn gale,
And when his vocal reeds were stirred
His melancholy moan was heard.
Far down against the mountain’s feet
The Vánar heard the wild waves beat;
Then turned his glances to the north.
Sprang from the peak and bounded forth,
The mountain felt the fearful shock
And trembled through his mass of rock.
The tallest trees were crushed and rent
And headlong to the valley sent,
And as the rocking shook each cave
Loud was the roar the lions gave.
Forth from the shaken cavern came
Fierce serpents with their tongues aflame;
And every Yaksha, wild with dread,
And Kinnar and Gandharva, fled.
Canto LVII. Hanumán’s Return.
Still, like a winged mountain, he
Sprang forward through the airy sea,(888)
And rushing through the ether drew
The clouds to follow as he flew,
Through the great host around him spread,
Grey, golden, dark, and white, and red.
Now in a sable cloud immersed,
Now from its gloomy pall he burst,
Like the bright Lord of Stars concealed
A moment, and again revealed.
Sunábha(889) passed, he neared the coast
Where waited still the Vánar host.
They heard a rushing in the skies,
And lifted up their wondering eyes.
His wild triumphant shout they knew
That louder still and louder grew,
And Jámbaván with eager voice
Called on the Vánars to rejoice:
“Look he returns, the Wind-God’s son,
And full success his toils have won;
Triumphant is the shout that comes
Like music of a thousand drums.”
Up sprang the Vánars from the ground
And listened to the wondrous sound
Of hurtling arm and thigh as through
The region of the air he flew,
Loud as the wind, when tempests rave,
Roars in the prison of the cave.
From crag to crag, from height to height;
They bounded in their mad delight,
And when he touched the mountain’s crest,
With reverent welcome round him pressed.
They brought him of their woodland fruits,
They brought him of the choicest roots,
And laughed and shouted in their glee
The noblest of their chiefs to see.
Nor Hanumán delayed to greet
Sage Jámbaván with reverence meet;
To Angad and the chiefs he bent
For age and rank preëminent,
And briefly spoke: “These eyes have seen,
These lips addressed, the Maithil queen.”
They sat beneath the waving trees,
And Angad spoke in words like these:
“O noblest of the Vánar kind
For valour power and might combined,
To thee triumphant o’er the foe
Our hopes, our lives and all we owe.
O faithful heart in perils tried,
Which toil nor fear could turn aside,
Thy deed the lady will restore,
And Ráma’s heart will ache no more.”(890)
Canto LVIII. The Feast Of Honey.
They rose in air: the region grew
Dark with their shadow as they flew.
Swift to a lovely grove(891) they came
That rivalled heavenly Nandan’s(892) fame;
Where countless bees their honey stored,—
The pleasance of the Vánars’ lord,
To every creature fenced and barred,
Which Dadhimukh was set to guard,
A noble Vánar, brave and bold,
Sugríva’s uncle lofty-souled.
To Angad came with one accord
The Vánars, and besought their lord
That they those honeyed stores might eat
That made the grove so passing sweet.
He gave consent: they sought the trees
Thronged with innumerable bees.
They rifled all the treasured store,
And ate the fruit the branches bore,
And still as they prolonged the feast
Their merriment and joy increased.
Drunk with the sweets, they danced and bowed,
They wildly sang, they laughed aloud,
Some climbed and sprang from tree to tree,
Some sat and chattered in their glee.
Some scaled the trees which creepers crowned,
And rained the branches to the ground.
There with loud laugh a Vánar sprang
Close to his friend who madly sang,
In doleful mood another crept
To mix his tears with one who wept.
Then Dadhimukh with fury viewed
The intoxicated multitude.
He looked upon the rifled shade,
And all the ruin they had made;
Then called with angry voice, and strove
To save the remnant of the grove.
But warning cries and words were spurned,
And angry taunt and threat returned.
Then fierce and wild contention rose:
With furious words he mingled blows.
They by no shame or fear withheld,
By drunken mood and ire impelled,
Used claws, and teeth, and hands, and beat
The keeper under trampling feet.
[Three Cantos consisting of little but repetitions are omitted. Dadhimukh
escapes from the infuriated monkeys and hastens to Sugríva to report their
misconduct. Sugríva infers that Hanumán and his band have been successful
in their search, and that the exuberance of spirits and the mischief
complained of, are but the natural expression of their joy. Dadhimukh
obtains little sympathy from Sugríva, and is told to return and send the
monkeys on with all possible speed.]
Canto LXV. The Tidings.
On to Praśravaṇ’s hill they sped
Where blooming trees their branches spread.
To Raghu’s sons their heads they bent
And did obeisance reverent.
Then to their king, by Angad led,
Each Vánar chieftain bowed his head;
And Hanumán the brave and bold
His tidings to the monarch told;
But first in Ráma’s hand he placed
The gem that Sítá’s brow had graced:
“I crossed the sea: I searched a while
For Sítá in the giants’ isle.
I found her vext with taunt and threat
By demon guards about her set.
Her tresses twined in single braid,
On the bare earth her limbs were laid.
Sad were her eyes: her cheeks were pale
As shuddering flowers in winter’s gale.
I stood beside the weeping dame,
And gently whispered Ráma’s name:
With cheering words her grief consoled,
And then the whole adventure told.
She weeps afar beyond the sea,
And her true heart is still with thee.
She gave a sign that thou wouldst know,
She bids thee think upon the crow,
And bright mark pressed upon her brow
When none was nigh but she and thou.
She bids thee take this precious stone,
The sea-born gem thou long hast known.
“And I,” she said, “will dull the sting
Of woe by gazing on the ring.
One little month shall I sustain
This life oppressed with woe and pain:
And when the month is ended, I
The giants’ prey must surely die.’ ”
Canto LXVI. Ráma’s Speech.
There ceased the Vánar: Ráma pressed
The treasured jewel to his breast,
And from his eyes the waters broke
As to the Vánar king he spoke:
“As o’er her babe the mother weeps,
This flood of tears the jewel steeps.
This gem that shone on Sítá’s head
Was Janak’s gift when we were wed,
And the pure brow that wore it lent
New splendour to the ornament.
This gem, bright offspring of the wave,
The King of Heaven to Janak gave,
Whose noble sacrificial rite
Had filled the God with new delight.
Now, as I gaze upon the prize,
Methinks I see my father’s eyes.
Methinks I see before me stand
The ruler of Videha’s land.(893)
Methinks mine arms are folded now
Round her who wore it on her brow.
Speak, Hanumán, O say, dear friend,
What message did my darling send?
O speak, and let thy words impart
Their gentle dew to cool my heart.
Ah, ’tis the crown of woe to see
This gem and ask “Where, where is she?”
If for one month her heart be strong,
Her days of life will yet be long.
But I, with naught to lend relief,
This very day must die of grief.
Come, Hanumán, and quickly guide
The mourner to his darling’s side.
O lead me—thou hast learnt the way—
I cannot and I will not stay.
How can my gentle love endure,
So timid, delicate, and pure,
The dreadful demons fierce and vile
Who watch her in the guarded isle?
No more the light of beauty shines
From Sítá as she weeps and pines.
But pain and sorrow, cloud on cloud
Her moonlight glory dim and shroud.
O speak, dear Hanumán, and tell
Each word that from her sweet lips fell,
Her words, her words alone can give
The healing balm to make me live.”(894)
BOOK VI.(895)
Canto I. Ráma’s Speech.
The son of Raghu heard, consoled,
The wondrous tale Hanumán told;
And, as his joyous hope grew high,
In friendly words he made reply:
“Behold a mighty task achieved,
Which never heart but his conceived.
Who else across the sea can spring,
Save Váyu(896) and the Feathered King?(897)
Who, pass the portals strong and high
Which Nágas,(898) Gods, and fiends defy,
Where Rávaṇ’s hosts their station keep,—
And come uninjured o’er the deep?
By such a deed the Wind-God’s son
Good service to the king has done,
And saved from ruin and disgrace
Lakshmaṇ and me and Raghu’s race.
Well has he planned and bravely fought,
And with due care my lady sought.
But of the sea I sadly think,
And the sweet hopes that cheered me sink.
How can we cross the leagues of foam
That keep us from the giant’s home?
What can the Vánar legions more
Than muster on the ocean shore?”
Canto II. Sugríva’s Speech.
He ceased: and King Sugríva tried
To calm his grief, and thus replied:
“’Be to thy nobler nature true,
Nor let despair thy soul subdue.
This cloud of causeless woe dispel,
For all as yet has prospered well,
And we have traced thy queen, and know
The dwelling of our Rákshas foe.
Arise, consult: thy task must be
To cast a bridge athwart the sea,
The city of our foe to reach
That crowns the mountain by the beach;
And when our feet that isle shall tread,
Rejoice and deem thy foeman dead.
The sea unbridged, his walls defy
Both fiends and children of the sky,
Though at the fierce battalions’ head
Lord Indra’s self the onset led.
Yea, victory is thine before
The long bridge touch the farther shore,
So fleet and fierce and strong are these
Who limb them as their fancies please.
Away with grief and sad surmise
That mar the noblest enterprise,
And with their weak suspicion blight
The sage’s plan, the hero’s might.
Come, this degenerate weakness spurn,
And bid thy dauntless heart return,
For each fair hope by grief is crossed
When those we love are dead or lost.
Arise, O best of those who know,
Arm for the giant’s overthrow.
None in the triple world I see
Who in the fight may equal thee;
None who before thy face may stand
And brave the bow that arms thy hand,
Trust to these mighty Vánars: they
With full success thy trust will pay,
When thou shalt reach the robber’s hold,
And loving arms round Sítá fold.”
Canto III. Lanká.
He ceased: and Raghu’s son gave heed,
Attentive to his prudent rede:
Then turned again, with hope inspired,
To Hanumán, and thus inquired:
“Light were the task for thee, I ween,
To bridge the sea that gleams between
The mainland and the island shore.
Or dry the deep and guide as o’er.
Fain would I learn from thee whose feet
Have trod the stones of every street,
Of fenced Lanká’s towers and forts,
And walls and moats and guarded ports,
And castles where the giants dwell,
And battlemented citadel.
O Váyu’s son, describe it all,
With palace, fort, and gate, and wall.”
He ceased: and, skilled in arts that guide
The eloquent, the chief replied:
“Vast is the city, gay and strong,
Where elephants unnumbered throng,
And countless hosts of Rákshas breed
Stand ready by the car and steed.
Four massive gates, securely barred,
All entrance to the city guard,
With murderous engines fixt to throw
Bolt, arrow, rock to check the foe,
And many a mace with iron head
That strikes at once a hundred dead.
Her golden ramparts wide and high
With massy strength the foe defy,
Where inner walls their rich inlay
Of coral, turkis, pearl display.
Her circling moats are broad and deep,
Where ravening monsters dart and leap.
By four great piers each moat is spanned
Where lines of deadly engines stand.
In sleepless watch at every gate
Unnumbered hosts of giants wait,
And, masters of each weapon, rear
The threatening pike and sword and spear.
My fury hurled those ramparts down,
Filled up the moats that gird the town,
The piers and portals overturned,
And stately Lanká spoiled and burned.
Howe’er we Vánars force our way
O’er the wide seat of Varuṇ’s(899) sway,
Be sure that city of the foe
Is doomed to sudden overthrow,
Nay, why so vast an army lead?
Brave Angad, Dwivid good at need,
Fierce Mainda, Panas famed in fight,
And Níla’s skill and Nala’s might,
And Jámbaván the strong and wise,
Will dare the easy enterprise.
Assailed by these shall Lanká fall
With gate and rampart, tower and wall.
Command the gathering, chief: and they
In happy hour will haste away.”
Canto IV. The March.
He ceased; and spurred by warlike pride
The impetuous son of Raghu cried:
“Soon shall mine arm with wrathful joy
That city of the foe destroy.
Now, chieftain, now collect the host,
And onward to the southern coast!
The sun in his meridian tower
Gives glory to the Vánar power.
The demon lord who stole my queen
By timely flight his life may screen.
She, when she knows her lord is near,
Will cling to hope and banish fear,
Saved like a dying wretch who sips
The drink of Gods with fevered lips.
Arise, thy troops to battle lead:
All happy omens counsel speed.
The Lord of Stars in favouring skies
Bodes glory to our enterprise.
This arm shall slay the fiend; and she,
My consort, shall again be free.
Mine upward-throbbing eye foreshows
The longed-for triumph o’er my foes.
Far in the van be Níla’s post,
To scan the pathway for the host,
And let thy bravest and thy best,
A hundred thousand, wait his hest.
Go forth, O warrior Níla, lead
The legions on through wood and mead
Where pleasant waters cool the ground,
And honey, flowers, and fruit abound.
Go, and with timely care prevent
The Rákshas foeman’s dark intent.
With watchful troops each valley guard
Ere brooks and fruits and roots be marred
And search each glen and leafy shade
For hostile troops in ambuscade.
But let the weaklings stay behind:
For heroes is our task designed.
Let thousands of the Vánar breed
The vanguard of the armies lead:
Fierce and terrific must it be
As billows of the stormy sea.
There be the hill-huge Gaja’s place,
And Gavaya’s, strongest of his race,
And, like the bull that leads the herd,
Gaváksha’s, by no fears deterred
Let Rishabh, matchless in the might
Of warlike arms, protect our right,
And Gandhamádan next in rank
Defend and guide the other flank.
You have read 1 text from English literature.
Next - The Rámáyan of Válmíki - 61
- 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