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

i. 30⁴—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [24
Lakshmaṇa, to himself—Well then, I will create a diversion. Looking at
the picture, aloud. Here now, aged by [the full length of] an eon,¹ is this
king of vultures, father Jaṭāyus² of honoured name, and [here] the
illustration of his valorous conduct.
Sītā—Alas, father! To its most bitter end (nir-) hast thou carried [this]
thy filial love!
Rāma—Alas, father! Thou descendant of Kaśyapa [and] monarch of the
winged tribes! Where can there be found, once again, another like thee—
a store of holiness, a saint?
Lakshmaṇa—This here, west of Janasthāna, is what they call Chitrakuñja³
—a portion of the Daṇḍakā forest inhabited [once] by the headless Danu.
This on the mountain Ṛishyamūka is the hermitage of [sage] Mataṅga,
and the grounds (padam) adjoining it. Here is the most saintly Śabara
lady, Śramaṇā by name. That again is the lily-pool called Pampā.⁴
Sītā—Here, as I learn (kila), my noble Lord—[all] his passion [for revenge]
(amarsha) and courage forsaking him—wept aloud and in the very fullness
of his heart (kaṇṭha).
Rāma—My Queen, lovely is this [lily-]pool [to me]:
[For,] in this [pool]—when in their youthful merriment the
[blue-beaked] mallikāksha birds shook with their wings the broad
and tremulous stalks of the [white] lotuses—in the intervals
between the risings and fallings of tear-drops, I perceived the
regions to be full of [blue] lotuses.⁵ 31
Lakshmaṇa—This is the noble Hanūmant (Māruti).⁶
Sītā—This is he who has conferred a mighty blessing on this [entire] living
world by uplifting it from the despair wherein it was long plunged—he of
resistless prowess, Māruti!
Rāma—Happily this is he of mighty arms—the source of Añjanā's⁷
joy—by whose valour blessed [in the attainment of their end] are
we ourselves and [all] the worlds! 32
Sītā—Dear brother, this here, with the full-plumed peacocks (barhin)
dancing upon its flowering kadamba trees, by what name is this mountain
called?—where, his majestic grace being all that is left of his pale beauty—

¹ A manvantara or eon = 306,720,000 human years.
² The vulture Jaṭāyus was a friend of Rāma's father, and met death in the attempt to prevent Sītā's abduction.
³ Lit. 'having many bowers'; the monster Danu infested it.
⁴ For all these persons and places see the Notes to the passage.
⁵ By a transference of the birds' colour to the lotuses on which they were perching.
⁶ A monkey-chieftain, ally of Rāma. He met Sītā in her captivity at Laṅkā, and carried news of her back to Rāma.
⁷ The mother of Māruti.

25] Act I, Picture-gallery — Translation [—i. 35ᵇ
about to swoon and supported by thy sorrowing [hands]—in the shade of
this tree, my noble Lord is depicted ?
Lakshmaṇa—This is that mountain perfumed with the [fragrant]
kakubha-[trees], Mālyavant by name, on whose peak is perching
an early rain-cloud, glossy and blue.
Rāma—Desist, my dear brother, desist from this: no farther can
I endure. Come back to me once again, meseems, is that
separation from [this] daughter of Janaka. 33
Lakshmaṇa—Hereafter [come], both of my noble brother and of the
valorous Monkeys and Demons, these countless and waxingly marvellous
deeds. Fatigued, however (cha), is my noble Lady here. Pray, therefore,
rest a while.
Sītā—Noble my Lord, the sight of these pictures has created [in me]
a longing, which prompts me to beg that—
Rāma—Why, you are free to command.
Sītā—I feel once again like amusing myself in the serene and lovely
woodlands, and having a plunge in the holy, cool, and translucent waters of
the exalted Bhāgīrathī.
Rāma—Dear Lakshmaṇa!
Lakshmaṇa—Here, at your service.
Rāma—That such longings should be forthwith gratified has even just
now been enjoined upon us by [our] elders (guru). Have ready therefore
a chariot that runs smoothly and without jolting.
Sītā—And you, my noble Lord, you are coming thither—aren't you?
Rāma—Why, you hard-hearted one! This—needs it to be said?
Sītā—Then, indeed, I am content.
Lakshmaṇa—So, as my noble brother commands. Exit.
Rāma—Dearest! Here, in this sheltered-balcony (apavartaka), let us repose
a while.
Sītā—So be it. Through fatigue I am really overpowered by sleep.
Rāma—If so, cling to me close and we will go [thither] together:
As if infusing life into me, let this thy arm—moist with drops of
perspiration due to excitement and fatigue—let it be thrown
around my neck: [thy arm] in all the loveliness of a necklace of
chandrakānta¹ beads, dripping [as when gently] kissed by the
moon-beams. 34
While helping her to do so, in joy. Dearest! What can this be?
Impossible to decide if this be joy or if this be grief, if a swoon
or a slumber; whether this be a slowly-creeping poison or an
¹ The 'moon-stone' is believed to have this property.
4 [H.O.S. 21]

i. 35ᵇ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [26
infatuation [of some sort] : for, at every touch of thine, a [certain]
feeling, benumbing all my senses, [possesses me, and] now
bewilders my soul (chaitanya) and now paralyses it quite! 35
Sītā, with a smile—'Tis all your unchanging affection : how else then
could it be ?
Rāma—Causing the drooping flower of my life to bloom—filling me
with transport—ravishing all my senses—these endearing words
of my lotus-eyed one : they are as ambrosia to the ear and as
elixirs to the mind ! 36
Sītā—Come, thou of honeyed words! Let us rest. Looks about for
something to sleep on.
Rāma—And what, pray, wouldst thou look for ?
Ever since the time of our wedding, at home or in the forest, in
girlhood and then again in young-womanhood, what has [ever]
lulled thee to sleep and what no other woman can claim—Rāma's
arm, thy pillow, is here. 37
Sītā, going into sleep—It is even so, my noble Lord ! It is even so. Sleeps.
Rāma—Why, with sweet words on her lips she has already fallen asleep on
my bosom ! gazing, in fondness—
She to the house a very Lakshmī¹—to the eyes an ambrosial
pencil—this touch of hers like a thick sandal-juice to the body—
this [her] arm round [my] neck, cool and tender as a pearl-
necklace : what of hers is not dear, save only that unendurable
separation ? 38
Pratīhārī,² entering—Has come, my liege !
Rāma—And who ?
Pratīhārī—The personal attendant of Your Majesty—Durmukha.³
Rāma, to himself—Oh, Durmukha, who is on duty about the harem ?
Him I had employed as a spy upon my subjects in the city and in the
country. Aloud. Let him come in.
Exit Pratīhārī.
Durmukha, entering, to himself—Alas! how now, concerning the Queen
Sītā, such an unthinkable public slander may I report unto the King ?
But (adhavā) such indeed is the lot of [men like] me, ill-starred.
Sītā, talking in her sleep—Alas! Gentle my Lord! Where art thou?
Rāma—How now ! Of that torment-giving separation this must be the
[latent] impression ⁴ (bhāvanā) which my Queen received while looking at
¹ The Goddess of wealth and plenty.
² A female warder. Her words 'has come'
Rāma construes with the last word of his
speech, 'separation'; hence his surprised
question. 'Separation' in Sanskrit is
masculine.
³ 'Foul-mouthed' or 'with face of evil omen'.
⁴ The poet is here purposely technical.

27] Act I, Picture-gallery — Translation [—i. 42ᵈ
the pictures, and which is [now] causing her these perturbed dreams.
Affectionately stroking her.
Uniform (advaita) in happiness and in sorrow—conformable
(anuguṇa) to all the conditions [of life]—in which the heart finds
solace—the flavour of which age cannot stint—which with time,
as the veil-of-reserve (āvaraṇa) drops away, abides as a perfect
and ripened affection—that one supreme-blessing (bhadra) [only]
the fortunate among mankind, and after a sore trial (katham api),
attain. 39
Durmukha, approaching—Victory unto Your Majesty!
Rāma—Speak what you have found out.
Durmukha—They praise Your Majesty—the people both in the city and in
the country—saying, ‘King Rāma has made us forget King Daśaratha’.
Rāma—A mere compliment this: tell me of some fault or other so that
it may be set right.
Durmukha, with tears—Let the King listen [then]. In his ear [whispers]
so and so.
Rāma—Alas! How sudden in its blow is this thunderbolt of a speech!
Faints.
Durmukha—Take heart, my King!
Rāma, coming to himself—
Alas, oh alas! That scandal, due to the residence in a stranger’s
house of this daughter of the Videha-King, [that scandal] which
[formerly] through means miraculous we had put down—that,
like a mad hound’s venom, is once again, by an adverse turn of
fortune, spreading fast (pra) everywhere! 40
What then—ill-starred that I am—may I do in this case? After reflecting,
mournfully. Or, what else is there [to it]?
For good men, by some means or other, propitiation of the people
[must be] a sacred duty (vrata)—[a duty] which, moreover (hi),
my father fulfilled,¹ though [thereby] losing me and his [own]
life. 41
Just a short while ago did the exalted Vasiṣhṭa send [me] his mandate.²
Furthermore,
[That long career] which hath been made glorious by the Children
of the Sun—the rulers of the Earth, the foremost of men—if that
pure and unblemished career [of this Solar race] should, on my
account, by some foul calumny be disgraced—then, alas! fie on
me, the unblessed! 42
¹ For the palace-intrigue which caused Rāma’s death, see Introduction, § 18, E.
banishment and his father Daśaratha’s Compare stanza 11, above.

i. 42¹—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [28
Alas, my Queen, who hast uprisen from the [very] sacrificial ground of the
Gods! Who by thy birth hast graciously purified [the womb of] the Earth!
Who hast been a joy to Janaka and [the whole race of] Nimi!¹ O thou
whose character [even] Fire and Vasiṣṭha and Arundhatī have commended!
Thou to whom Rāma is life and all! Thou the dear companion of my
residence in the great wilderness [of Daṇḍakā]! Dear unto my [honoured]
father! Sweet and measured in thy words! How is it that of one like
thee such here should be the fate?—
Through thee [are] the worlds holy—unholy [are] the world’s
rumours about thee! Thou art the world’s protection—without
protector thou wilt [now] perish! 43
Go, Durmukha, say unto Lakshmaṇa: This is what thy new King, Rāma,
commands thee. In his ear [whispers] so and so.
Durmukha—And wherefore [unto the Queen] whose purity has been
attested by the fire-ordeal and who bears in her womb the [hopes of the]
continuance of this holy race of Raghu—[wherefore] unto a queen, on base
wretches’ words, has Your Majesty resolved to mete out such treatment?
Rāma—Peace! The people of my city and my country—base wretches?
Ikshvāku’s race hath [ever] been beloved of the people: and [yet
in it] hath arisen, as Fate will have it, an occasion of scandal.
And as for that miraculous event at the time when the Queen was
cleared [by the ordeal]—who will believe it, since it took place
[in Laṅkā] so far away? 44
Go therefore.
Durmukha—Alas, Queen! Exit.
Rāma—Woe and alas! Detestable in my actions—a savage—have I been!
From childhood on, with kind cares (priyaiḥ), to her wants have
I ministered—my dearest, who in her love hath naught but me on
whom to rest: her I am treacherously handing over to Death, as
does a butcher his pet house-bird! 45
Wherefore then should I—the untouchable criminal—[yet continue to]
pollute the Queen [by my touch]? Gently uplifts Sītā’s head, withdrawing
his arm.
[Me,] an outcaste whose deeds it were hard to match, let me go,
thou artlessly-innocent one! Thou hast clung, mistaking it for
a sandal-tree, to what is only a poison-tree with fruit of bane. 46
Rising. Alas! [to me] topsy-turvy now is this world of life. Ended is the
life-purpose of Rāma. A void, now, a wasted wilderness, is the universe.
Robbed-of-its-charms is my existence [hereafter]. My body a mere abode
¹ Ancestor of Sītā’s father, Janaka.

29] Act I, Picture-gallery — Translation [—i. 50⁴
of woes. No help remains to me and no choice : what can be done ?
Surely (athavā)—
It is only to make me feel [the pangs of] sorrow that into [me,]
Rāma, consciousness has been put; and my life is stubborn like
a dart of adamant: it pierces the vitals [and will not be pulled
out]! 47
O Arundhatī that hast been a mother to me; ye venerable Vasiṣṭha and
Viśvāmitra; O holy Fire and thou O all-sustaining Goddess [Earth]!—
Alas, father ! Alas, Janaka ! Alas, ye my [dear] mothers !—Thou O loving
friend, King Sugrīva ;¹ gentle Hanūmant ; Vibhīshaṇa,² ruler of Laṅkā
[and] my great benefactor; [and not the least] thou O friendly Trijaṭā ³—
ye do all stand robbed, stand insulted, by this wretch of a Rāma ! Or rather,
what right have I now to call on them ?
For, I think, that they of noble mind, when their names are taken
on the lips of me of base and ungrateful mind, [that they] perhaps
are polluted by my deed of wrong, 48
in that I—
Am casting away her who in confidence on my bosom reposing has
gone to sleep—my dearest consort, the glory of my house ;—her
whose womb is heavy with its painfully throbbing and full-grown
burden—[her] like a victim unto the Flesh-eaters ⁴ I am ruthlessly
throwing away! 49
Placing his head on Sītā’s feet. Queen, Queen ! Here now—but [alas !]
for the last time—Rāma’s head toucheth thy lotus-feet. Weeps.
[Voice,] behind the curtain—An outrage against a Brahman, an outrage !
Rāma—Find out, some one, what it is.
[Voice,] again behind the curtain—
Of sages fierce in their austerities and dwellers on the banks of
the Yamunā, a throng, harassed by [the demon] Lavaṇa, is
approaching unto thee their defender. 50
Rāma—How,—even yet are the demons harassing ? Then I must forthwith
send [my brother] Śatrughna to destroy this wicked son of Kumbhīnasī.⁵
Pacing a few steps and again coming back. Alas, my Queen, how—
situated as thou art—[how] wilt thou fare ? O holy [Earth, thou] Giver
of all blessings ! This thy virtuous daughter do thou look upon with
kindness—this daughter of Janaka :

¹ An ally of Rāma.      ⁴ Demons or beasts of prey.
² Brother of Rāvaṇa ; he assisted Rāma in his      ⁵ Mother of the demon Lavaṇa. He infested
     fight with Rāvaṇa, and was by Rāma      the region around Mathurā (modern
     installed king of Laṅkā.      Muttra in the N.W. Provinces).
³ She solaced Sītā in her captivity.

i. 51ᵃᵇ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [30
Of Janaka's and of Raghu's families the all-in-all of auspiciousness,
and to whom—of holy character—in the holy sacrificial ground of
the Gods thou didst give birth. 51
Exit.
Sītā, talks in sleep—Alas, gentle my Lord! Rising abruptly. Why now,
what a fool I am! Deceived by the malignant dream, I am crying after my
noble Lord! Looking [around]. How now! Could it be that leaving me
here alone and sleeping, my dear Lord has verily gone away? What can
this mean? Well, well! I must be angry with him—provided [of course]
that when I look upon his face I am master of my [actions]! Who is in
attendance here?
Durmukha, entering—Queen! Prince Lakshmaṇa requests: The car is
ready; will the Queen [be pleased to] get in?
Sītā—Here I am, ready. Rising. I feel something like a throbbing in my
womb: let us go slowly.
Durmukha—This way, this way, Queen!
Sītā—My salutations¹ unto the Presiding-deities of the race of Raghu!
Both go out.

¹ It is usual, when leaving the house, to make this homage.

END OF ACT I
CALLED
PICTURE-GALLERY.

ACT II
[Voice,] behind the curtain—Welcome unto [you] the store of holiness!
Enters a female ascetic in a traveller's habit.
Female Ascetic—O, I see: This is a sylvan deity approaching me respect-
fully with an offering¹ of leaves and fruits and flowers.
Sylvan Deity, entering, and making the offering—
Open unto your unhindered enjoyment is this forest here; this is
for me a day of bliss. For, the meeting of the good with the good
happens but rarely [and then, only] by [reason of some special]
merit. Sheltering arbours, water, and whatsoever of food for
[your] penance be suited—fruit or root—all alike is entirely at
your command here. 1
Female Ascetic—Needs this to be said?
A habitual complaisance of manners; a temperance in speech
agreeable by its modesty; a disposition naturally benevolent:
a friendship [absolutely] irreproachable—thus first and last [and
ever] invariable in its sweetness, may this secret of a sage's [life]
—free from stains and hindrances—[may it ever] prosper! 2
Both sit down.
Sylvan Deity—By what name, now, may I know your ladyship?
Female Ascetic—I am Ātreyī.
Sylvan Deity—Honoured Ātreyī, and from where is it that you have come,
and what may be your purpose in coming to this Daṇḍakā forest?
Ātreyī—Here in this region are dwelling—with Agastya² at their
head—many [scholars] learned in the Sāma-Veda. To acquire
from them the Upanishad (nigamānta) lore, hither have I come
journeying from Vālmīki's place. 3
Sylvan Deity—If now even other [distant] students (muni), to realize
Brahma, sit at the feet of that same venerable discourser of Brahma [Vālmīki],
that son of [God] Varuṇa, what means then this your ladyship's journey?
¹ It is usual to honour a guest with such an    Southern India. His hermitage was in
  offering.                  Pañchavaṭī, near Rāma's own.
² Believed to be the earliest explorer of

ii. 3³—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [32
Ātreyī—There [occurred] a great hindrance to the course-of-studies
(adhyayana); and so was this long journey undertaken.
Sylvan Deity—Of what sort [may this hindrance be]?
Ātreyī—To him, the exalted one [Vālmīki], some unknown (viśesha)
divinity has made over two boys in every respect marvellous and being
of an age when they were just weaned. These boys have indeed captivated
the inmost hearts not only of [Vālmīki] himself but also of all movable
and immovable beings¹ whatsoever.
Sylvan Deity—And are their names known?
Ātreyī—That same divinity, 'tis said, announced Kuśa and Lava as their
names, and [declared also] their prowess.
Sylvan Deity—Prowess, of what nature?
Ātreyī—They have—so runs the report (kila)—a mastery from their very
birth over the jṛimbhaka missiles with their secret spells.
Sylvan Deity—This, to be sure, is passing strange!
Ātreyī—Now these [boys] the exalted Vālmīki, having taken upon
himself the duties of a nurse, has brought up under his care. As soon as
they had gone through the chaula²-ceremony he [Vālmīki] assiduously
grounded them—with the exception of the three Vedas—in the three³
other branches of knowledge. And then when the [boys] had reached the
eleventh year from their conception, they were, according to the rites
proper to a Kshatriya, invested with the Sacred Thread and instructed in
the knowledge of the Three [Vedas] also.⁴ Now with these two [boys],
possessed of exceedingly brilliant power of comprehension and retentiveness
as they are, [students] like us cannot keep pace in the studies. For,
The preceptor imparts unto the clever, instructions just the same
as unto the dull, and in no wise doth he their power of compre-
hension either make or thwart; and yet there does result a vast
difference as to the outcome: for we know (tad-yathā) that [only]
a pure crystal is able to take in images, and not a [mere] lump of
clay. 4
Sylvan Deity—And this then is the hindrance to your course-of-studies?
Ātreyī—[There is] yet another.
Sylvan Deity—And what can this other be?
Ātreyī—Then, once upon a time, this Brahman-sage [Vālmīki], for his

¹ Not only animals and plants, but even
mountains and rivers and the whole
mineral kingdom, in fact, possess souls.
² Lit. 'forelock'-ceremony: clipping a boy's
hair with the exception of five little tufts
or locks. At the time of marriage these
'forelocks' give place to a single central
tuft or śikhā.
³ Logic, Economics, Politics: the Vedas form
the fourth branch. See Kauṭilīya, p. 6.
⁴ The Vedas may not be taught before the
Sacred-thread ceremony.

33] Act II, Daṇḍakā Revisited — Translation [—ii. 6ᵈ
[customary] midday oblations, went unto the river Tamasā; and there,
of a pair of curlews sporting together (chārin), he sighted one as it was
being pierced by a fowler. Then did [the sage] burst forth in words
divine, spontaneous-and-intuitive, blameless [in their form] and adapted to
the metre of an anushṭubh stanza:
‘Never, O Nishāda,¹ through all the years eternal, [never] shalt
thou attain stability, because thou hast killed one of these two
curlews maddened with love [for its mate].’ 5
Sylvan Deity—Wonderful is this introduction of new metres outside the
Vedas!²
Ātreyī—And then, about the same time, unto that exalted one—unto the
sage [Vālmīki] in whom shone forth the light of Brahma in the form of
the Word—approached the exalted Author of all beings, the Lotus-born
[Brahmadeva], and spake,—Sage! Awakened art thou to that Brahma
whose essence is Word: Speak out, therefore, the History of Rāma.
Unimpeded in its illumination [be] thy inspired and prophetic vision!
Thou art the first of poets. So saying He [forthwith] became invisible.
Then [Vālmīki,] that exalted son of Varuṇa, composed what is the first
[of its kind] among mortals: that transformation (vivarta) of Brahma-in-
the-form-of-Word—the History called Rāmāyaṇa.
Sylvan Deity—This, to be sure (hanta), is an adornment to the world.
Ātreyī—And hence, as I said, there occurred a great hindrance to our
course of studies.
Sylvan Deity—I see now (yujyate).
Ātreyī—I have had my rest, kind lady! Now unto [sage] Agastya’s
hermitage point me the way.
Sylvan Deity—Enter Pañchavaṭī on this side here, and then proceed
onwards along this bank of the Godāvarī.
Ātreyī, with tears—Can it then be that this penance-grove is Pañchavaṭī—
that this river is Godāvarī—that this mountain is Prasravaṇa—and [finally]
that you are the Deity of the Janasthāna, Vāsantī?
Vāsantī—Even so: all [as you say].
Ātreyī—[Alas] Jānakī, my child!³
Here are those loving companions of thine, on [all] occasions the
theme of thy conversation, who, as I see them [here] now, bring
thee visibly before our eyes, though [alas!] only the name of thee
now remains behind! 6
¹ Forester. Before this the Vedas were the only
² Vālmīki is regarded as the father of poetry metrical works.
and the Rāmāyaṇa as the first poem. ³ Ātreyī apparently is an elderly lady.
5 [H.O.S. 21]

ii. 6¹—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [34
Vāsantī, with apprehension, to herself—How! 'only the name of thee now
remains behind,' she says! Aloud. What calamity then, noble lady, has
befallen the Queen Sītā?
Ātreyī—Not a mere calamity but a calumny to boot! In her ear [whispers]
so and so.
Vāsantī—Alas! A cruel stroke of destiny! Faints.
Ātreyī—Compose yourself, gentle lady, compose yourself.
Vāsantī—Alas, my loving friend [Sītā]! Thou Fortune's favourite! That
such should be the lot of thy life!! Rāma, dear! Dear Rāma!—Or rather
I have had quite too much of thee. But, I say, honoured Ātreyī, after
Lakshmaṇa's departure from that forest where he had left her, what
became of Queen Sītā? Is there any tidings as to that?
Ātreyī—No, not the least.
Vāsantī—Woe and alas! And when Arundhatī and Vasishṭha were guardians
to the scions of the Raghu-race—[even] in the [very] life-time of the aged
Queen-mothers—how was this suffered to happen?
Ātreyī—In Ṛishyaśṛiṅga's hermitage the elders were then living. Now
[however] that twelve-year [long] session [of the sacrifice] has come to an
end; and Ṛishyaśṛiṅga, after paying them the [customary] honours, has
bidden the elders (guru) farewell. Then spake the exalted Arundhatī,—
'I will not return to Ayodhyā if our daughter-in-law [Sītā] is not there';
to this too Rāma's Queen-mothers assented; and in compliance with that
the exalted Vasishṭha uttered his holy word to the effect that they should
[all] repair unto Vālmīki's penance-grove and there abide.
Vāsantī—And the King¹—what is he doing now?
Ātreyī—The King has now undertaken a horse-sacrifice.
Vāsantī—Oh, fie! Has he even married [again]?
Ātreyī—No, Heaven forfend, no!
Vāsantī—Who then is there to participate in the religious offices² connected
with the sacrifice?
Ātreyī—A golden image of Sītā.
Vāsantī—Ha!—Really?
Than even an adamant, harder; softer than even a flower: the
minds of those that tower above the common sort—who is there
that can [ever] fathom [them]? 7
Ātreyī—And the sacrificial horse has been let loose consecrated by [sage]
Vāmadeva;³ and for [the horse] have been assigned, agreeably to the
Shastras (Scriptures) the [proper number of] guards, and at the head of
¹ She would not call him 'Rāma dear' now. monies.
² The wife took part in all religious cere- ³ Who officiated in the absence of Vasishṭha.

35] Act II, Daṇḍakā Revisited — Translation [—ii. 9²
these is commissioned the son of Lakshmaṇa, Chandraketu by name, who
has been initiated into the [traditional] knowledge of celestial missiles and
who is leading an army [fully] equipped in all its four divisions (aṅga).¹
Vāsantī, in curiosity and with tears of affection—Even Prince Lakshmaṇa
has a son, and I, O mother, am [still] living [to see it]!
Ātreyī—Meantime a Brahman lays down his dead son at the royal gate and
beating his breast proclaims that an outrage has been committed against
a Brahman. Then, since in the absence of some failing of the king himself
no untimely death can overtake any one of his people, our dear Rāma
mournfully began to examine [his past conduct to diseover] some fault of
his own: when all of a sudden an incorporeal voice broke forth—
'Tis Śambūka by name—a Śūdra—who on [this] earth is practising
penance. His head it behoves thee, O Rāma, to cut off: by killing
him bring thou the Brahman [boy] to life. 8
Hearing this, sword in hand and mounting his aerial car, Pushpaka,² the
Lord of the World [Rāma] has [now], in search of that Śūdra aseetic, begun
to traverse all the cardinal and intermediate points.
Vāsantī—A Śūdra, Śambūka by name, who inhales the smoke,³—in this
very Janasthāna does he practise penance. Can it then be that Rāma
dear⁴ will once again grace this forest [by his presence]?
Ātreyī—Kind lady, let me go now.
Vāsantī—So be it, honoured Ātreyī; for, the day has grown oppressive—
As the itching elephants⁵ rub their rounded temples against them,
[the trees] shaken violently shower down their flowers, [already]
through heat loosened from the stalks, and [with this shower] pay
[their midday] offering [as it were] to the [river] Godāvarī.
In their shade [are] these birds that, as they scrape [for food],
peck with their beak and drag forth insects [hidden] under the
bark; [perched] on their [tops are] these troops of fine pigeons
and [wild] fowl cooing [in languor]: such [now], along this
bank, are [all] these nesting-trees. 9
They move about and exeunt [severally].
END OF INTERLUDE.
¹ Elephants, horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers.
² Lit. '[light as] a flower'. It came into Rāma's possession after the victory of Laṅkā. The car was as swift as the mind, and obeyed automatically all the wishes of the rider.
³ By hanging from a tree head downwards.
⁴ He has become 'Rāma dear' again!
⁵ Their temples itch when they are in rut.

ii. 9³—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [36
Then enters Rāma in his Pushpaka, raised sword in hand,
and full of compassion.
Rāma—O my right hand, for the revival of the Brahman's dead son
do thou hurl at [this] Śūdra ascetic thy sword! Thou art a
member of Rāma's [body]—[of that Rāma] who found it easy
(paṭu) to send away Sītā, [although she was] languishing with
[the weight of] the burden she bore:¹ Compassion—how can it be
thine? 10
Reluctantly striking. Done is a deed worthy [only] of a Rāma! May it be
that the Brahman boy will now come to life?
A Celestial Person, entering—Victory, victory unto Your Majesty!
With you, rod in hand [to mete out punishment and] to grant
immunity even from the Lord of Death, revived is that boy and
mine hath been this glory: This is Śambūka with his head
bowing at your feet. Coming from contact with the good even
death brings salvation! 11
Rāma—Both [the events] please us [equally]. May you now enjoy the
reward of your fierce penances!—
Where there is all bliss and delight—wherein through merit [alone]
is [a person] born: may those realms of light—Vairāja as they
are called—be yours for ever! 12
Śambūka—It is your gracious feet that have brought me this greatness.
What has my penance to do in the matter? Or rather [I should say]
a mighty boon has my penance conferred upon me:
You are the One to be sought after in this world—the Lord of
men, their [supreme] refuge; [and you] in search of me—this mere
Śūdra—have over hundreds of leagues traversed, and come
[hither]: This great favour it is my penance that hath conferred
upon me; were it otherwise, from the [distant] Ayodhyā what
possibility was there of your coming once more to this forest of
Daṇḍakā? 13
Rāma—What! Is this indeed Daṇḍakā? Looking in all directions. Yes,
indeed!
Mild and shady in some places, in others harsh in [the immensity
of] their frightful expanse; here and there filling the quarters with
the roar of their gushing streams: these, interspersed with forests,
¹ This indicates that even after the lapse of mourns as bitterly as ever. Compare
twelve years Rāma is still haunted by also iii. 3⁶.
the memory of his wife, whose loss he

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.

ii. 19²—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [38
young trees thickly planted and yielding an ample and bluish shade—with
the numerous herds of deer fearlessly [roaming about] : let the noble one
[now] look at these, these serene and awe-inspiring central forests :
Here, as the [youth-]intoxicated birds invade the vānīra creepers,
the flowers [dropping down into the rillets] suffuse with fragrance
their cool and limpid waters;—as the jambū clusters, darkling
with the load of ripening fruit, impede [the rillets in] their
path, their [broken] currents incessantly murmur : thus do these
[mountain-]rillets glide along. 20
Furthermore—
Here, of the young bears that have their lairs in [these] caverns,
the spluttered growls (ambūkṛita) become augmented by the
echoes that they send forth; [and] cool and bitter and pungent as
it is, the exuding fragrance of the śallakī¹ branches, torn from
their joints and scattered about by [rutting] elephants, is [also]
augmented. 21
Rāma, stemming [the flow] of his tears—Friend, happy be your path!
May you attain the Course celestial,² leading you on to the Realms of
the holy!
Śambūka—Meantime I shall do my homage to the ancient Brahman sage,
[the venerable] Agastya, before I enter the Abode eternal. Goes out.
Rāma—This, once more, is that same, same forest that to-day
I behold, [the forest] wherein formerly for many many days we
lived [together], as foresters and as householders, duly discharged
our [several] duties, [and] knew the taste of [all] the charms
of life. 22
Here are those selfsame mountains alive with the cries of
peacocks—these the same wooded ridges full of the lustily sportive
deer. Here again, vocal with [the rustlings of] the lovely vañjula
creepers, are those same river-banks densely fringed with the
sable nichula [trees]. 23
And this here that, like a range of clouds, one can well make out
even from a distance—this is the mountain Prasravaṇa, where is
the river Godāvarī. 24
It was on the mighty crest of this very [mountain] that the king
of vultures [Jaṭāyus] had his abode; and at its foot we likewise
found our comfort in those leafy cottages. The waters of the
¹ A tree the twigs of which form the favourite so the exudations of śallakī intensify the
food of wild elephants. The idea is, as pungent smell of the elephants' rut.
the caverns deepen the growls of bears, ² See Note to the passage.

39] Act II, Daṇḍakā Revisited — Translation [—ii. 28³
Godāvarī reflecting the glory of its sombre trees and the birds
filling the skies with their incessant warblings—such is this
charming woodland [scenery]. 25
And even here is that Pañchavaṭī every spot in which can bear witness,
in the course of our long residence, to those manifold expressions of
unreserved endearments, and where my dear wife’s dear friend, Vāsantī,
[has her abode]. What then is this that has to-day befallen this Rāma?
For now—
Like the virulent essence of some poison [dormant hitherto but
now] after such a long time diffusing itself all over and causing
spasms [of acute pain]--like the splinter of an arrow [imbedded
in flesh and smarting now] as when, from some cause or other,
it is violently shaken—like a [festering] ulcer overgrown with
flesh [on the outside but] bursting open in the very vitals of the
heart—even so my [long and so to say] solidified grief [now]
unmans me as would a recent [grief]. 26
Still, these friends of old—these landscapes here—I will see. Looking [more]
closely. Ha! How changed [now] is the aspect of this region!—
Where once was the stream [itself], there now are the sands of
the rivers; of the sprouting trees (kshiti-ruh) the denseness and
the sparseness have exchanged places:¹ This forest, seen after
[such] a long time, seems to me like another [forest]—only the
unaltered position of the mountains confirms the idea that it is
the same! 27
Alas! Though trying to avoid it, my attachment to Pañchavaṭī forcibly
draws me, as it were, towards it. With pathos—
[That Pañchavaṭī] wherein, in that [blissful] manner, those days
with her I passed, and later, in our home, with long talks about
which [Pañchavaṭī] we constantly whiled away our time: alone,
now, after being the cause of the loss of his dear [wife], how
should Rāma, sinful as he is, visit that very same Pañchavaṭī, or
how pass on regardless of it? 28
Śambūka, entering—Victory unto Your Majesty! The exalted Agastya
hearing from me of your presence [here], sends this word unto you:—
‘Having in readiness all the auspicious preparations for your welcome,
the kindly Lopāmudrā awaits you, as do also all the sages [in our
neighbourhood]. Come then: honour us [with your visit]. With your
swift Pushpaka you can thereafter return to your country in time for the
horse-sacrifice.’
¹ I. e. where the trees were dense, now they are sparse, and vice versa.

ii. 28⁴—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [40
Rāma—As the exalted [Agastya] commands.
Śambūka—Let Your Majesty then turn the Pushpaka this way.¹
Rāma—O Pañchavaṭī [of] revered [memory]! Being constrained by [this
call from] those to whom deference is due (guru), for a while let this
transgression of Rāma be forgiven [him].
Śambūka—Behold, Sire, behold!—
[These clumps here—] when in the tiny-nests (kuṭīra) within
their bushes the flocks (ghaṭā) of owls do hoot—they constrain the
troops of rooks² to silence: these vast stretches (āḍambara) of
the melodious (guñjat) bamboo-clumps (stambha) [growing on]
this mountain called Krauñchāvata; [this mountain] wherein
[also] are to be seen—frightened by the cries of the hovering
(prachalat) peacocks—these snakes² climbing in fear around the
trunks of ancient sandal trees. 29
Furthermore,—
These here, with their caverns rumbling and roaring with the
torrents (vāri) of the Godāvarī³—the clouds overhanging their
blue and towering peaks—[these] are the lofty Southern ranges.
[Here likewise—] with mutual clashings overwhelmed and surging
with the tumult of their noisily dashing billows—here are the
confluences of these holy and fathomless streams. 30
Exeunt both.
END OF ACT II
CALLED
DAṆḌAKA REVISITED.
¹ It would seem that throughout the act peacocks. Snakes are inordinately fond
Rāma was in his aerial car, though it is of sweet-smelling sandal trees.
not a necessary supposition. See Notes ³ It is not possible to reproduce in translation
for further discussion of the point. the alliteration of the original. It suggests
² Rooks fear the owls as snakes fear the Southey's ‘Lodore’.

ACT III
Then enter two River[-goddesses].
First [River-goddess]—Friend Muralā, why do you seem to be in a [great]
flurry?
Muralā—Honoured Tamasā! I am sent by the exalted Agastya's wife—
Lopāmudrā—to say unto the great river Godāvarī as follows: “You already
know that ever since [Rāma] abandoned our daughter-in-law [Sītā]—
Through the imperturbable gravity [of his nature] carrying
concealed within [himself] commotions of intense agony, like an
iron-vessel-closed-and-boiling (puṭapāka) is the impassioned grief
that Rāma is enduring. 1
So that, born out of that misfortune which befell one that was so dear to
him, his long-continued sorrow, now [wellnigh] coming to a climax, has
made dear Rāma sadly pine away. As I look upon him my heart seems
as if trembling to its [very] root! Now, furthermore, as dear Rāma has
once again come here, he would certainly not fail to see these spots in the
woodlands of the Pañchavaṭī that could speak to him (sākshin) of those
unreserved endearments that he had had in the company of his wife.
And in those [spots], firm by nature though he be, still—under such
conditions—through the overwhelming emotions of a sorrow settled-and-
profound, at every step, it is to be feared, would arise occasions for great
mishaps. Do you, therefore, O exalted Godāvarī, be watchful about it:
With breezes borne over [your] waves and surcharged with
cooling sprays and wafting along the perfumes of [your] lotus-
filaments—every time dear Rāma sinks-under-his-grief (mohe)—
do you [O Godāvarī] his senses revive, gently, gently fanning
him.” 2
Tamasā—This assiduous-care is worthy indeed of the affection [Lopāmudrā
bears for Rāma]; but for dear Rāma's revival, the only-natural-remedy-
that-there-is (maulika), is here at hand to-day.
Muralā—How so?
Tamasā—Listen. You-may-not-perhaps-know (kila) that, after abandoning
her in the outskirts of Vālmīki's penance-grove, when Lakshmaṇa went
back, Queen Sītā—as travail came upon her—in the very vehemence of
6 [H.O.S. 21]

iii. 2⁵—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [42
her pangs, threw herself into the stream of the Ganges; and then, even
there, she was delivered of a pair of sons. She was then comforted by
[her mother] Earth and the river Jāhnavī¹ [Ganges] and by them taken
to the Nether regions. Then as the twins [grew of an age to be] weaned,
them the Goddess [of the] Ganges handed over in person to the son of
Varuṇa, to the great sage [Vālmīki].
Muralā, with amazement—
Of such [as Rāma and Sītā] even an [adverse] turn [of fate]
proves to be full of miracles, in that even persons [as exalted] as
these [the Earth and the Bhāgīrathī] serve as instruments [to
their ends]. 3
Tamasā—And now, in consequence of this affair of Śambūka, [Bhāgīrathī]
being led to anticipate, through the [river] Sarayū's² report, that Rāma
would come hither to Janasthāna, and, what the exalted Lopāmudrā out
of affection [for Rāma] apprehended, apprehensive of the same, the exalted
Bhāgīrathī, in the company of Sītā and under pretext of some household
rite or other, has come here on a visit to the Godāvarī.³
Muralā—This is a happy thought of the exalted [Bhāgīrathī]. For when
indeed [he is] stationed in his capital and engrossed in all those activities
conducive to the world's progress, it is possible to keep dear Rāma's mind
away [from his grief⁴]; whereas [now] with nothing [else] to occupy
[his thoughts] and face-to-face-with naught but his sorrow, this his
revisiting of the Pañchavaṭī [will be] an unfailing source of mischief.
But how—as-things-stand (idānīm)—is Queen Sītā going to comfort
Rāma?
Tamasā—Thus spake [unto Sītā] the exalted Goddess Bhāgīrathī: “My
child, thou that hast sprung from the [very] sacrificial ground of the
Gods, Sītā! To-day, as-you-know (khalu), it being the twelfth birthday of
the long-lived ones—of [our] Kuśa and Lava—for their ensuing prosperity
(abhivardhate) we must tie the auspicious twelfth (saṅkhyā) knot.⁵ There-
fore, unto thy ancient Father-in-law, the Progenitor of all this race of
Royal sages beginning with Manu,⁶ [I mean] unto the God Sun, the dispeller

¹ When Bhagīratha brought down the Ganges                  ³ A physical fact, believed even now to occur
    (cp. p. 21, note 6, above), the river in its                           at stated intervals : see Notes.
    course washed the sacrificial sheds of                       ⁴ Or, it is quite possible to keep dear Rāma's
    Jahnu, who in anger drank it all up. At                        mind from running off [to the one subject
    Bhagīratha's intercession he let the river                      that harrows him].
    out again through his ears. Hence the                       ⁵ A thread tied around the wrist or the arm,
    name Jāhnavī.                                                            one knot being added each succeeding
² A tributary of the Ganges: Ayodhyā,                          birthday.
    Rāma's capital, is situated on it, and so                       ⁶ The seventh of his name, Son of the Sun,
    the river knew what happened in that                        and founder of the Solar race of kings.
    city.

43] Act III, The Shadow — Translation [—iii. 6ᵈ
of all that is evil, do thou, with flowers collected by thy own hands, pay thy
homage. And as thou wilt tread the surface of the earth—through my
sure contrivance (prabhāva)—not even deities shall [be able to] see thee,
still less mortals." [Likewise] thus was I commanded : "Tamasā, for you
this daughter of Janaka, this [our] dear daughter-in-law, has already con-
ceived a great affection; do you, therefore, yourself keep her company."
Accordingly I am now going to do what I am bidden.
Muralā—And I for my part will [now] unto the exalted Lopāmudrā
convey this news. Dear Rāma, I think, is just coming here.
Tamasā—And here is she, issuing from the deep basin of the Godāvarī—
With her face lovely even in the [very] paleness of its emaciated
cheeks and with the braid of hair all dishevelled¹—the very
image of Pathos² or like Grief-of-separation incarnate : so unto
the woodland goes this daughter of Janaka. 4
Muralā—And this to-be-sure (hi) is she!
Her long and remorseless sorrow, parching up the flower of her
heart, withers away her body [which is] like a tender sprout torn
from its stalk, and all pale and emaciated—as does the autumnal
heat the inmost petal of a ketakī flower. 5
Both walk about and go out.
END OF INTERLUDE.
[Voice,] behind the curtain—O how unfortunate, how unfortunate!
Then enters Sītā busied in collecting flowers and listening with
pathetic eagerness.
Sītā—Ha! I know it is my dear friend Vāsantī that is speaking.
[Voice,] behind the curtain—
That youngling of an elephant who was [fed] formerly by Queen
Sītā with tender śallakī leaves gathered by her own hands, fed as
he stood before her fond and expectant— 6 a, b
Sītā—[And] what of him ?
[Same Voice,] behind the curtain once more—
he, sporting in the water in the company of his mate, is busily
engaged in combat by a mighty leader of another herd of tuskers,
who has in wanton-pride (darpa) assailed him. 6 c, d
¹ A woman in separation does not plait her hair.
² Here, as in several other places, the word Pathos is used in a technical sense. Pathos is one of the eight or nine or ten
sentiments that, according to Hindu writers on Rhetoric, should pervade a
poetic composition.