महावीरचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - वीररस-प्रधान रामकथा नाटक सम्पूर्ण ७ अङ्क सटीक)

37] Act II, Daṇḍakā Revisited — Translation [—ii. 19²
abounding in [holy] bathing-places and hermitages and moun-
tains and rivers—[they] appear to be, familiar as they have been
to me, the [same old] regions belonging to the wilderness of
Daṇḍakā. 14
Śambūka—Surely this is Daṇḍakā; and—as I have learnt—by Your
Majesty when formerly living here—
Fourteen thousand Demons, frightful in their deeds, and the three;
Dūshaṇa,¹ Khara, and Trimūrdhan, in battle were slain. 15
And hence it was that in such a saintly resort—in this Janasthāna—even
timid persons like me could roam at will, apprehending danger from
nowhere.
Rāma—So, not merely Daṇḍakā, but this is even Janasthāna?
Śambūka—Assuredly: For, smiting all creatures with horror—hosts of
furious and savage beasts infesting [all] its inaccessible mountain-recesses—
there in sooth are those extensive forests outlying the skirts of Janasthāna
and stretching [from there] towards the south. For—
Noiseless and [profoundly] silent in places; in places resounding
to the roarings of ferocious beasts; huge and horrible serpents,
stretched out in repose, making with their [fiery] breath [the
whole forest] ablaze: these [indeed] are those bordering regions
having [very] little water flashing in their clefts, so that the
thirsty lizards [must] drink the sweat exuded by [mighty]
pythons! 16
Rāma—I do [indeed] behold Janasthāna, once the abode of [the demon]
Khara; and as if [happening] just before my eyes those former
events I do now experience! 17
Looking carefully all around. Yes (hi): And the daughter of the King of
Videha [my Sītā] always loved these woodlands (ārāma). Here, to be
sure, are those [very] forests: Than this can anything be more terrible?
With tears.
'With thee will I dwell in those dales where the scents are sweet'
—[this was her thought, and] with that alone here was she
happy—such was her love [for me]! 18
Though doing nothing, by the very joy [of being together] we
chase away all sorrow: Indeed it is a treasure indescribable when
some one has some one to love. 19
Śambūka—Let us, if you please (tad), turn away from these impenetrable
[forests]. But here are these others,—studded with hills that wear the soft
tinge of a lusty and tuneful peacock's throat—decked with clusters of
¹ For the names see Introduction, § 18, H and I.