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

iii. 46⁶—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [58
repair to the exalted Bhāgīrathī and [there] perform the auspicious birth-
day (varsha-vardhana) rites of the long-lived ones, [our] Kuśa and Lava.
Sītā—Pray, honoured [Tamasā], permit me, just for a moment [longer], to
see him [a sight of whom must be] so rare [hereafter].
Rāma—Furthermore, there is, to participate in the sacred rites of the
horse-sacrifice,—
Sītā, with trepidation—Who, my noble Lord?
Rāma—A golden image of Sītā :—
Sītā, with a sigh [of relief]—Now art thou indeed he—my noble Lord!
Ha! Now has my noble Lord plucked out [from my heart] that [rankling]
dart of abandonment and disgrace!
Rāma—And with the sight of it [the image] I shall now for my tear-
dimmed eyes seek solace.
Sītā—Blessed is that [image] which is so highly esteemed by my noble
Lord and which, affording solace to my noble Lord, has become the stay
for [all] the hopes of this living world!
Tamasā, embracing [Sītā] with a sad and affectionate smile—Don’t you
see, my child, that this amounts to praising thy own self?
Sītā, looking down abashed, to herself—I have brought honoured Tamasā’s
smile upon me!
Vāsantī—This your visit has indeed been a great favour for us. As for
your going, be it so that no neglect of duty may ensue.
Sītā—This time [for once] Vāsantī is acting against my interests.
Tamasā—Come, child, let us go:
Sītā, reluctantly—We might—might do so.
Tamasā—Or rather, how canst thou move from hence, as long as, of thy
eyes—
As if riveted upon thy dear Lord and wide open in eagerness—
[of thy eyes] the withdrawal [from their object] has not yet
been completed—[a withdrawal] that is sure to (para) tear thy
vitals? 47
Sītā—Homage unto my noble Lord’s lotus-feet, this sight of which some
exceptional merit [of mine] has vouchsafed me. Goes off in a swoon.
Tamasā—Take comfort, my child! Be of good cheer.
Sītā, recovering—Yes: for, how long¹ may it be that amidst enveloping
clouds one can win a glimpse of the full moon?
Tamasā—How marvellous has been the course of events!²
¹ Not very long: so I must be content with
this short visit.
² Or, the arrangement of incidents. The author is here doing the very thing for
which, a while ago, he blamed Sītā: in-
directly praising himself!