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

iv. 22⁴³—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [70
sacrificial ground of the Gods. Her, nearing her travail, Lakshmaṇa
abandoned all alone in the forest and returned [to Ayodhyā].
Kausalyā—Alas, my child! Thou whose face was lovable like the moon!
In that forlorn plight, of what sudden and malignant sports of Fate has
the flower of thy body been the victim?
Janaka—Alas, my daughter!
Assuredly, when that indignity fell upon thee, and the terrors of
the wilderness, and the pains at the hour of childbirth; when on
all sides troops of flesh-eating [Monsters] thronged about thee;
then, stricken with terror, more than once must thy mind have
turned to me as thy [natural] protector! 23
Lava, to Arundhatī—Pray, Madam, who are these?
Arundhatī—This is Kausalyā, and this is Janaka.
Lava looks at them with sorrow, respect, and curiosity.
Janaka—Oh, the impudence of these citizens! Oh, the precipitancy of
King Rāma's actions!
When over this dreaded fall of a thunderbolt in the form of this
dire calamity I sit for ever brooding, is it not time [yet, I ask,]
for my wrath to kindle-and-blaze forth with arrow or with
curse? 24 a, b
Kausalyā, in fear—Help, exalted [Arundhatī], help: Appease this angry
royal sage.
Arundhatī—When high-souled persons are treated with indignity, this
[viz. being victims to their wrath] is the natural expiation [of
that offence]. [Janaka,] my King, Rāma is as a son to thee; and the
subjects, contemptible though they be, have to be protected. 25
Janaka—Peace then! Let neither [arrow nor curse] be used upon
[Rāma] that scion of Raghu; for he is the treasure of a son unto
me: And as to the subjects, they are for the most part a mere
assemblage of Brahmans, of infants and of dotards, of decrepits
and of females! 24 c, d
Enter some excited boys.
Boys—Prince, O Prince! A strange species of animal—a horse, a horse—
as the country-folks call it—why, we have just now seen one with our
own eyes!
Lava—[A horse?] A horse is mentioned in that catalogue of beasts and in
the treatises on warfare. Say, what is he like?
Boys—Listen:
Behind he carries a flowing tail, and this he's waving all the time.
He has a long neck, and hoofs he has—just four. Grass he eats,

71] Act IV, Kausalyā and Janaka — Translation [—iv. 27²
and he drops lumps of dung, big as a mango. But why so much
talk? He's on the move and will soon be far. Come, come, let us
follow. 26
They approach him and pull him by his hands and his garment.
Lava, with mingled feelings of curiosity, constraint, and respect—Behold,
noble ones! Here am I being dragged [off from your presence] by these
boys! Moves about hastily.
Arundhatī and Janaka—Thou mayest satisfy thy curiosity, child!
Kausalyā—Exalted [Arundhatī], I seem as if robbed [of something], now
that he is out of sight. Let us then move from here and see the long-lived
one, where he is going.
Arundhatī—That nimble child, with his very swift pace, has already shot
far ahead: how is it possible to see him now?
Chamberlain, entering—The exalted Vālmīki replies, ‘This matter, in good
time, you will come to know.’
Janaka—It must then be something very mysterious! Exalted Arundhatī,
friend Kausalyā, worthy Gṛishṭi, come, let us go in person and see the
exalted son of Varuṇa [Vālmīki].
Exeunt older people.
Boys—Let the Prince now look upon this wonder.
Lava—Yes, I see it—understand it too. He is evidently a sacrificial
horse.
Boys—How dost thou know?
Lava—Why, fools! Have you not also studied that section? Don't you
know, ‘There are cuirassiers, mace-bearers, and bow-men, numbering a
hundred of each sort, to form the escort’? And this force here appears to
answer the description. If you don't believe me—just ask.
Boys—Ho, Sirs! Tell us: Why [in the world] is this horse turned loose
and [yet] guarded?
Lava, enviously, to himself—A horse-sacrifice is, for the world-conquering
Kshatriyas, the great and glorious touchstone of their pre-eminence, cal-
culated to abash all [opposing] warriors.
[Voice,] behind the curtain—
This horse here—he is as the banner or as the proclamation of the
valour [of Rāma,] of that one supreme hero of the seven worlds,
the foe unto the race of that ten-necked [Rāvaṇa]. 27
Lava, as if in wounded [pride]—Oh, how they inflame my wrath—these
words!
Boys—There is no use talking—the Prince does know.

iv. 27³—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [72
Lava—Sirs! Is it because [you think] there is no Kshatriya in this world
that you are proclaiming in this fashion?
[Voice,] behind the curtain—Fellow! To compare with our great King
[Rāma] there are not any Kshatriyas.
Lava—Fie upon you, villains!
If they [your masters] are [great, as you say,] let them be. What
need, however, of this your scarecrow [of a proclamation]? But,
why waste words thus? Here am I now, seizing by force your
‘banner’ as you call it. 28
Here, Boys! Hem [this horse] in, throw clods at him and compel him
to turn back: Let the poor creature, for once, graze amongst the roebucks!
A Soldier, entering, angry and overbearing—Tush, rash boy! what didst
thou say? Don’t forget (hi) that these files of doughty and ruthless warriors
brook not even a mere child’s insolent words. And the Royal Prince
Chandraketu, who knows how to chastise an enemy, is [away now], being
attracted by a desire to see these mild and unfamiliar forests; but before
he returns, do ye, and quickly, slip away through this shady thicket.
Boys—Have done with this horse, Prince! For, these columns of warriors
with their flashing weapons seem to threaten thee! And our hermitage is
far from here. Come then: let us flee with the bounding speed of deer.
Lava, with a laugh—So the weapons, you say, are really flashing, are they?
Stringing his bow:
Then, [let this my bow] with its string lapping—like a tongue—
the tapering, tooth-like bow-tips—[this bow] the sound of the
twang of which is, like a belching, terrific and grim: [my bow,]
imitating the yawns of the jaws in the cavernous mouth of Death
as when He grins ready to swallow [the world]—let my bow
now open its gaping maw! 29
All walk about, as suits the occasion,¹ and go out.
¹ This would mean that Lava fights the soldier and drives him off the stage, himself in
pursuit.
END OF ACT IV
CALLED
KAUSALYĀ AND JANAKA.

ACT V
[Voice,] behind the curtain—Ho, ho! Soldiers! 'Tis come, 'tis come—
our succour!
For here he is in his chariot, Sumantra in haste urging forward
its fleet and galloping steeds—its flagstaff of kovidāra violently
shaken at each jolting—here is our Chandraketu coming hither
upon the news of our fighting. 1
Then enters in a chariot, with the charioteer Sumantra, Chandraketu,
bow in hand and full of wild joy and excitement.
Chandraketu—Look, worthy Sumantra, look!
His handsome face flushed with just a tinge of glowing anger—
the bow incessantly twanging at the tips—the five locks [on his
head] all floating [to the winds], there, as he takes his stand
in the van of the battle and rains a shower of arrows upon the
battalions,—he is indeed a marvel (kopi), this son of a hero! 2
How strange!
This lad from the hermitage, all alone, and scattering everywhere
upon [my] army thousands of blazing shafts, impelled with a
terrific twang and piercing the joints of the elephants' temples:
He engages my interest as though he were some new, unknown
scion of the race of Raghu. 3
Sumantra—Long-lived one,—
As I look upon this boy who in his prowess excels Gods and
Demons and who is so like [unto Rāma] in form, I am reminded
of that Joy of the Raghus [our Rāma], when, bow in hand, he
subdued the foes that disturbed the holy sacrifice of Kuśika's
son [Viśvāmitra]. 4
Chandraketu—That so many should exert themselves against him singly—
for this I feel ashamed in my heart:
On one side is this solitary stripling; and here are [on the other]
our forces clutching with their martial fingers these dense files
of weapons and brandishing them wildly in the brunt of the
battle—[some seated] in chariots ringing with the jingle of the
tinkling golden bells, and [others mounted] upon rutting tuskers,
10 [H.O.S. 21]

v. 5ᵈ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [74
pouring down, like clouds, actual torrents of ichor—all [arrayed
on the other side and trying to] overwhelm him! 5
Sumantra—Prince, all of these, united, cannot possibly hold against him:
much less, disunited!
Chandraketu—Make haste, worthy [Sumantra], make haste! For, this
fellow here has commenced a great havoc amongst those whom I must
shield—[our soldiery]. For,
As he sets his bow resounding, its twang, amplified by the
stunning din of the war-drums, causes a furious aching in the
ears of herds of elephants roaring even in the [distant] mountain
recesses; and as he sends down rolling [or] hacks to pieces these
countless heads, hideous to behold, the hero makes these grounds
seem as if strewn over with morsels [of food] ejected by the
terrific mouth of satiated Death! 6
Sumantra, to himself—How can I permit dear Chandraketu to engage in
single combat with such [a fighter as this boy]? Reflecting. Or rather
we have grown old in [the service of] Ikshvāku's family: What alternative
is there when [a fair fight] has presented itself?
Chandraketu, with feelings of amazement, shame, and confusion—Oh, fie!
My forces are being scattered on all sides!
Sumantra, speeding the chariot—Long-lived one, here now is this hero,
come within range of thy call.
Chandraketu, as if in forgetfulness—Worthy [Sumantra], what name was
given him by those who came to call [us]?
Sumantra—‘Lava’ they said.
Chandraketu—Ho, Lava of mighty arms! Why busiest thou thyself
with these [mere] soldiers? Here am I: Come hither unto me:
Let light be quenched in light. 7
Sumantra—Lo! Behold, Prince!
He has turned—this heroic youth—summoned by thee from his
[work of] carnage amongst the army; as, at the roar of thunder,
the valiant whelp of a lion [turns] from his [work of] slaughter
amongst troops of elephants. 8
Then enters Lava with hurried and defiant strides.
Lava—Well done, Royal youth, well done! Thou verily art a [true] scion
of Ikshvāku. Here then I am, just come to meet thee.
A great tumult behind the curtain.
Lava, quickly turning back—What! Once routed, do the leaders of the
army return and obstruct my path, wishing again to engage me in combat?
Fie on the wretches!
Unto the mighty flames of my wrath, flaring like those issuing

75] Act V, Princes in Combat — Translation [—v. 12¹
from Vaḍavā's¹ mouth, as when some falling mountain² dashes
upon it and disturbs it—let it serve as a morsel: this stunning
confused din arising on all sides from the army and resembling
a billow of ocean when it is lashed by the winds that portend the
dissolution of the universe! 9
Moves about excitedly.
Chandraketu—Ho, my young warrior,—
This thy extraordinary valour has endeared thee to me: thou art
my friend therefore, and what is mine is even thine. Wherefore
then dost thou deal destruction unto thy own dependants [this
army]? Am not I, rather, the one on whom thou shouldst try thy
mettle (nikasha), I, Chandraketu? 10
Lava, hastily turning, with joy—Oh, how gracious and yet stern is the
language of this hero of great prowess—this Prince of the Solar race!
Let alone these [soldiers] then; I'll rather pay him my [warrior's]
compliments.
Again a tumult behind the curtain.
Lava, with wrath and disgust—Ah! I am vexed-past-endurance (kadar-
thita) by these wretches that come in the way of a meeting between
warriors! Advances towards them.
Chandraketu—Behold, worthy [Sumantra], it is a sight to see :
His attention riveted upon me in pride not unmingled with
curiosity—the full-stretched bow in his hand, and my forces
keeping close upon his rear—he is emulating the grace of some
cloud decked with Indra's rainbow, and dragged by violent winds
in two opposite directions. 11
Sumantra—The Prince at least knows how to look upon him: we, however,
are simply lost in amazement!
Chandraketu—O ye kings [and warriors],—
That you in countless numbers, with him who is here alone—you
upon horses and elephants and chariots, with him who is on
foot—you sheathed in armour, with him whose upper garment
is just the holy deer-skin—you mature in age, with him tender
in years and a lovable person—that you should thus gird up
your loins to battle with such as he—fie, oh fie upon you, and
upon us! 12
Lava, resentfully—How? would he commiserate me? Reflecting. Well
¹ Submarine fire, which accounts for the
non-increase in the volume of the ocean,
in spite of the many rivers falling into it.
² When Indra began to clip with his thunder-
bolt the wings of the mountains, some
of them threw themselves into the ocean
for shelter. The legend is given in
Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā, i. 10¹³.

v. 12¹—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [76
then: to prevent loss of time I will, with my jṛimbhaka missile, throw
this army meanwhile into a stupor. Remains meditating.
Sumantra—Wherefore then, of a sudden, is all the hubbub in our army
hushed?
Lava—Now we shall have a meeting all to ourselves (sapragalbham).
Sumantra, excitedly—Meseems, dear Prince, this young warrior has em-
ployed the jṛimbhaka missile.
Chandraketu—There is no doubt about it:
Like some terrific blending as of darkness and of lightning, [the
missile] renders ineffectual even a steadfast eye, now obscuring
it and now giving it a free scope. And as if drawn in a picture
is this army standing here without even winking! Verily it
is the jṛimbhaka of unfailing potency that is at work here! 13
Wonderful! wonderful!
Black like the darkness massed in some recesses in the interior
of the Nether regions—blazing in the radiance of their flames
that are yellow like some hot and glowing brass—these jṛimbhaka
missiles fill the skies, as if they were the peaks of the Vindhya
mountains tossed up by those harsh and dreaded whirlwinds that
rise at the end of the kalpa,¹ [peaks] with their caverns flaring
with lightnings issuing from some clashing clouds! 14
Sumantra—But from whom, I ask (punaḥ), has he had these jṛimbhakas?
Chandraketu—From [Vālmīki,] the exalted son of Varuṇa, we ² think.
Sumantra—No, dear Prince, it is not thus in the case of missiles, and
especially the jṛimbhakas; for,
They are the creations of [sage] Kṛiśāśva, and from Kṛiśāśva
they went to [Viśvāmitra] the son of Kuśika; then the tradition
was imparted to our dear Rāma, with whom it rests. 15
Chandraketu—But there may be even others, the ‘Seers of Mantras’ [so
called], who, through the perfection of the light of their sattva, can ‘see’
things for themselves.
Sumantra—Be on thy guard, dear Prince: thy heroic opponent has returned.
The two Princes, the one to the other—Ha! how charming is this Prince to
behold! Observing each other in cordial affection:
Is it [merely] this chance encounter or is it the excellence of his
qualities—is it some ancient and intimate friendship of an earlier
birth—or is it some kinship between us that has remained

¹ Kalpa = 4,318,272,000 human years. At the    that, confident of his own valour,
  end of a kalpa comes a dissolution of    Chandraketu was not at all dismayed
  the universe.                by Lava's prowess.
² The ‘we’ is here to be noted. It shows

77] Act V, Princes in Combat — Translation [—v. 21¹
unknown by the power of Fate, and inexplicable?—[I know not
why, but] as I look upon him my heart becomes all attention.¹ 16
Sumantra—This, as a rule, is the way of all living beings, that some one
should feel a spontaneous love for some one else. This popularly is known
as ‘astral friendship’² or ‘love at sight’. And this love has been declared
to be incomprehensible, one for the motives of which it is vain to seek:
When there is an attachment with no [apparent] cause there is
no counteracting it; for, it is a thread of cordiality that knits
together the inmost vitals. 17
The two Princes, the one to the other¹—
Upon this form lovely like a polished jewel how can I let my
arrows descend?—a form which, as it draws near, my body
bristles all over with horripilations in my longing to embrace
it. 18
But when he has displayed such fiery spirit, what alternative can
there be but a weapon? And to what use can a weapon serve
if such as he is not to be its target? And what will he himself
say if I be averse to fight when the weapon is already taken
in hand? [Oh,] the warriors’ code of honour is indeed relentless
and thwarts the [natural] course of affection. 19
Sumantra, observing Lava attentively, with tears, to himself—Why dost
thou, my heart, thus wander astray?
What was the germ of our hopes, that by Fate has already
been robbed³: upon a creeper cut at its root how can flowers
appear? 20
Chandraketu—I would descend, worthy Sumantra, from my chariot.
Sumantra—Wherefore?
Chandraketu—Because, in the first place, this young hero will thereby
have received the deference [due]; and further, worthy Sir, it will be
in obedience to Kshatriya law. ‘Men in chariots do not engage in fight
men on foot’—such is the ruling of those that know the Shastras.
Sumantra, to himself—Ah! I am [now] really placed in a trying situation:
This course that is but just, how can a man like me object to it?
And how likewise can he permit this deed that is rashness pure
and simple? 21
Chandraketu—When, upon any dubious matter religious or secular, even
my sires seek your advice—you, worthy Sir, who were the dear friend
¹ For the joint speeches see the Notes. ³ In other words, Sītā, on whom rested the
² An affinity due to a certain astrological hopes of the continuance of the elder line
conjunction of the stars of their nativity. of the Raghus, is no more. Cp. p. 62, n. 4.

v. 21¹—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [78
of [Daśaratha] my sires’ sire, what is it then that makes your worship
hesitate?
Sumantra—Yes, my long-lived one, even so: thy sentiments are in strict
accord with the law:
For, this is the rule on the battle-field; this is the eternal law:
and this also is the heroic course of conduct pursued by the Lions
of the [race of] Raghu. 22
Chandraketu—Most apposite are your worship’s words:
History, chronicles, the mandates of law, and also the traditions
of the family of Raghu—these none but your honour knows
[thoroughly]. 23
Sumantra, embracing him in affection and with tears—
Not many, my dear child, [not many] have been the days since
your father, the dear [Lakshmaṇa], vanquished even that van-
quisher of Indra [Indrajit, son of Rāvaṇa]. And thou, the son
of such a father, art also following the path of heroes. Happy
it is indeed that Daśaratha’s family has attained stability! 24
Chandraketu, with sorrow—
When the head of the Raghu-family [Rāma] is yet without
stability [in the form of issue], wherein consists the stability
of our family? It is this grief that weighs upon our three other
sires.¹ 25
Sumantra—Alas! These words of Chandraketu, they pierce the vitals
of my heart!
Lava—Forsooth! diverse feelings struggle in me for precedence:
As in the rise of the full moon the lotus-creeper finds its joy,
even so does my sight [find its joy] in him: nevertheless it is
fighting that this [my arm] desires—my arm which has fixed
its love on this heavy bow, vocal with the string that resounds
with a cruel twang, [my arm] with its wrist (mukha) marked
by an open gaping scar.² 26
Chandraketu, alighting—Worthy [Sumantra, this is] Chandraketu of the
Solar race, saluting you.
Sumantra—May the holy, resplendent, and invulnerable lustre of a
Kakutstha ³ be thine: May the Eternal God [Vishṇu, incarnate
as] the Boar bless thee with happiness! 27
Furthermore,—
May the Divine Sun uphold thee in thy combat—he who is the
¹ Literally, ‘three other fathers’ = his father would, of course, be Rāma.
Lakshmaṇa and his two uncles, Bharata ² Due to contact with the bow-string.
and Śatrughna. The ‘fourth father’ ³ A famous ancestor of Rāma.

79] Act V, Princes in Combat — Translation [—v. 31ᶜ
father of thy race! Unto thee may the son of Mitra and Varuṇa
[Vasiṣhṭha]—he who has been the guru of thy gurus—speak
gladness! Of Indra and Vishṇu, of Fire-god and Wind-god, and
of the [heavenly] Eagle, may the vigour be thy own! And may
the twang of the bows of Rāma and Lakshmaṇa be [unto thee]
the magic-spell that yields victory! 28
Lava—Prince, thou dost certainly look extremely comely even as thou
art—in thy chariot: enough, enough of this excess of courtesy.
Chandraketu—In that case, let the valiant one also grace another chariot.
Lava—Worthy [charioteer], take the Royal prince again upon his chariot.
Sumantra—Then do thou also assent to dear Chandraketu's wishes.
Lava—Why hesitate when it is a question of one's own equipage? We
however are foresters, unused to going in chariots.
Sumantra—Thou knowest, noble youth, how [to speak] what pride and
politeness demand! If, for once, the noble scion of Ikshvāku, [I mean]
King Rāma, were to see thee as thou art, then would his heart melt for
very love! ¹
Lava—Yes, [worthy Sir]; we have heard that that Royal sage is kind-
hearted. Colouring slightly.
Neither are we—by any means—of a sort to be jealous even of
[holy] sacrifices; for, breathes there the man that would not, for
King [Rāma's] virtues, accord him pre-eminence? Still, that
speech of those guardians of the horse—it stirred me up by that
arrogant defiance which it conveyed unto all Kshatriyas what-
soever. 29
Chandraketu, smiling—Indeed! Is the eminence of even father [Rāma's]
prowess something you cannot put up with?
Lava—Perhaps I can—I may—put up with it, perhaps not; but this
I would ask. We have, to be sure, heard that the noble descendant of
Raghu [Rāma] has subdued his own self. It is said he is not himself
arrogant, nor is there arrogance in his subjects. Why then do his men utter
a speech worthy only of a Rākshasa [demon]?—
For, that, declare the sages, is a speech worthy of a Rākshasa
which flows from arrogance and intoxication: such [a speech]
is the source of all feuds: it is the world's curse (nirṛiti). 30
Thus they censure this kind of speech, the other they praise thus—
It yields desires and dispels misery; it begets fame and blunts
malice (dushkṛita): such a speech [at once] truthful-and-agreeable
¹ Sumantra artfully introduces this reference age be true. Lava's answer sorely dis-
to Rāma to ascertain if what he suspected appoints him.
(cf. v. 20, above) about the boy's parent-

v. 31ᶜ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [80
(sūnṛita) is, say the wise, the parent of all blessings—a [veritable]
cow!¹ 31
Sumantra—This youth, this pupil of the son of Varuṇa [Vālmīki], is
indeed a pure soul: a glow of sacred learning suffuses all his utterances.
Lava—And then further, Chandraketu, you ask me, if the eminence of
even father [Rāma's] prowess is something I cannot put up with: I ask,
Are the qualities of a Kshatriya absolutely restricted in the matter of
possessors?²
Sumantra—Thou certainly dost not know the Royal descendant of
Ikshvāku [Rāma]. Desist now, desist and do not transgress the bounds:
Thou hast to be sure wrought havoc amongst the soldiery and
proved thy prowess; but thou must not speak so lightly of
[Rāma,] the vanquisher of the son of Jamadagni.³ 32
Lava, with a laugh—Worthy Sir, why all this tall talk about the King
[simply] because he vanquished the son of Jamadagni?
For, it needs no proving that it is the valiance in words that
belongs to the Brahmans; but as to the valiance in arm, that belongs
to the Kshatriyas. The son of Jamadagni was a Brahman who
[happened to] wield a weapon: for his having vanquished him
what praise can the King [Rāma] claim? 33
Chandraketu, slightly provoked—Have done, my worthy [Sumantra], no
more bandying of words!—
This fellow apparently is some extraordinary avatāra of manliness,
because not even [Paraśurāma,] the exalted descendant of Bhṛigu,
is a hero to him! And he seems not to know even the holy
exploits of father [Rāma]—exploits that have conferred upon the
seven worlds [the gift of] eternal immunity from danger! 34
Lava—Who indeed does not know the exploits—the greatness—of the
Lord of the Raghus? If indeed one were only to have his say—but
never mind!
They are old folks; their career must not be scrutinized; let
them be: why discuss them? For, they are the world's great
men, and their glory abates not even if they kill a woman—the
wife of Sunda!⁴ And those three steps—I do not say in
retreat!⁵—which were taken [by Rāma] in that mêlée with [the
¹ And the praise could go no higher.
² That is, may not others, besides Rāma, possess the Kshatriya qualities?
³ For Paraśurāma, the son of Jamadagni, see p. 20, note 6.
⁴ Tāṭakā, see note 4 on page 19 above.
⁵ Literally, 'with his face turned in a particular direction', which I need not specify. As Khara came rushing upon Rāma, the latter took a few steps backwards in order the more freely to use his bow.

81] Act V, Princes in Combat — Translation [—v. 36²
demon] Khara, or that skill¹ exhibited in the murder of [Vālin]
the son of Indra—the people are all conversant with that! 35
Chandraketu—Fellow! In traducing father [Rāma] thou art going beyond
all bounds: Wilt thou then be so defiant?
Lava—Aha! He is frowning upon me, is he?
Sumantra—All ablaze now is their wrath! For,—
The tremor produced by excitement has unloosened the knots
of hair tied upon their forehead; their eyes, partaking slightly of
the nature of a red lotus, redden spontaneously: and, by the
sudden movements of the knitted eyebrows, their faces wear
the beauty of the moon in which the spot is prominent, or of
a lotus with the bees hovering around it. 36
The two Princes—Let us then hence repair to a place suitable for combat.²
All go out.
END OF ACT V
CALLED
PRINCES IN COMBAT.
¹ Rāma struck Vālin, the King of the Monkeys,
while the latter was engaged in fight
with Sugrīva.
² The place, however, was already suitable
for combat in that it is on this very
place that Lava routed the soldiers a
while ago. See, however, note 2 on
page 11 above.
11 [H.O.S. 21]

ACT VI
Then enter in an aerial car a pair of air-sprites
gaudily attired.
Male Sprite—Oh, how marvellous really are the valorous deeds of these two
scions of the Solar race [Lava and Chandraketu] fiercely engaged in a
sudden combat—deeds that inflame [all the more] their [blazing] Kshatriya
lustre, so that even Gods and Demons seem to be quite lost in amazement!
For, look, look here, my love!—
As they bend their bow, the tiny bells [upon it] tinkle like
jingling bracelets, and it produces by its [vibrating] ends and by
the twang of its tough string a terrific clamour; and as they
discharge [a shower of] arrows, the crests on their head throb
ceaselessly: it is a combat waxingly wondrous and striking
the whole world down with terror! 1
And as a portent of victory for both of them, here goes the deep
boom of the celestial war-drum, rumbling like a roaring rain-
cloud. 2
Let us then start continually pouring upon these two heroes a thick
coursing shower of flowers, mingled with a charming succession of the
full-blown golden lotuses—[a shower] surcharged with comely dew-drops
[glistening] upon the bunches of fresh and rubied buds [culled] from the
garden of the Gods.
Female Sprite—Why then, all at once, does the sky appear yellow, as
if with the flashing streaks of some sudden and mightily throbbing
lightning?
Male Sprite—Can it then be that even to-day—
The Blue-red [God Śiva] is going to open the lid of the [third]
eye in his forehead, [that eye] which dazzles like the flaring orb
of the Sun when whirled¹ on Tvashṭṛi's whirling lathe? 3
Reflecting. Ah, I see. It is Prince Chandraketu who has employed this
Fiery missile, from which are shooting these streaks of fire. For, now—
¹ As happened when Tvashṭṛi, the divine too strong for Sañjnā, Tvashṭṛi's daughter,
architect, wanted to trim off a portion wedded to the Sun. For another ex-
of the Sun's brilliancy, which proved planation see Notes.

83] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 5¹¹
These countless aerial cars are flying [in all directions], their flags
and chowries all singed and besmirched; while, upon the fringes
of their [silken] pennons, these flames are producing, for a
moment, the appearance of a tint of saffron! 4
Wonderful! It is already gaining ground everywhere—this puissant
(bhagavān) fire from which are issuing sparks that fly crackling with the
noise of the splinters of some wrathful thunderbolt—[fire] which is terrific
in the [seething] mass of its tall and towering flames coursing rapidly!
And fierce is its heat on every side. I shall, therefore, screen my dear
[wife] with my body and withdraw to a [safe] distance. Does so.
Female Sprite—Oh, joy that this touch of my dear Lord's body, cool like
some stainless pearl, and smooth and soft and tender,—as I in ecstasy had
gently closed my rolling eyes—[this touch] has quite banished all my
anguish!
Male Sprite—Why, what have I done here? Or rather—
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.¹ 5
Female Sprite—How now? Why is the expanse of the sky being strewn
over ² with these clouds, decked with the fitful and incessant flashings of
the sportive streaks of lightning, and sable like the throat of a youthful
peacock?
Male Sprite—Why, this must certainly be the prowess of the Vāruṇa-
missiles employed by Prince Lava. Lo! The showers of water descending
one after another in thousands of streams have quite quenched the Fiery
missile!
Female Sprite—I am glad, I am glad.
Male Sprite—But lo! Everything in excess is a fault; for now are all
beings whatsoever thrown into [a fit of] trembling, quite overwhelmed
by this impenetrable darkness which is rendered intense by the deep
rumbling clouds as they are tossed up by the series of winds ³ that portend
Dissolution—[beings] who seem as if weltering in the caverned jaws
(kaṇṭha) of the dreaded [God of] Death, [jaws] wide gaping to swallow the
universe in one morsel—or [they seem] as if lost in the belly of the Cosmic
Spirit (Nārāyaṇa) when, at the end of the Yugas, all gates of egress being
closed, He falls into His yogic sleep! Bravo, Prince Chandraketu, bravo!
Most appositely hast thou sent forth the Wind-missile. For now—
¹ This verse = ii. 19, where it is spoken by were above the clouds.
Rāma. In the mouth of an inferior ³ There are forty-nine of these winds that
character it loses its dignity. come into activity at a Dissolution of the
² 'Strewn over' and not 'overcast', for they universe.

vi. 6ᵃᵇ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [84
This wind has dissolved all clouds, numerous though they were,
into we-know-not-what (kvāpi), thus resembling the [highest]
knowledge which dissolves [all] illusory-forms (vivarta) into
the [fathomless] Brahma. 6
Female Sprite—But, my dear, who now is this [person], the fringe of
whose upper garment is floating [to the winds] as he, in flurry, tosses up
his hands, [this one here] who, even from afar, has by his sweet words
forbidden the continuance of the combat and who is bringing [this] his
excellent aerial car to the ground right between the two Princes?
Male Sprite, observing—This is the Lord of the Raghus [Rāma], returning
from [his mission of] killing Śambūka:
Upon hearing the words uttered by this great personage [Rāma],
Lava, out of deference to him, has withheld the discharge [of
further missiles] and is appeased; Chandraketu is already paying
his homage: may happiness attend the King [Rāma] by his being
united with his [own] sons! 7
Come, let us hence. Both go out.
END OF INTERLUDE.
Then enter Rāma, and Lava, and Chandraketu [in the act of] making
obeisance [to Rāma].
Rāma, alighting from the Pushpaka—
Moon (chandra) of the Solar race, my Chandraketu, come, quick,
let me hold thee fast to my bosom! With thy body, cool like
a lump of snow, let all the burnings of my heart be allayed! 8
Raising him up and embracing him with tears of affection. Has it all
been prosperous with thee and the celestial weapons into which thou hast
been initiated?
Chandraketu—All prosperous, [especially] by the happy acquisition of this
sweet-looking and wonderfully valiant Lava. Let me request my honoured
sire, therefore, to regard with the same affection with which you are wont
to regard me, or even with more, this most eminent hero.
Rāma, observing Lava—Happily this my son's [Chandraketu's] friend has
a form that is at once quite serene and charming:
He seems to be the very Science of Arms assuming a bodily form
to protect the people; or is he the Code of Chivalry (kshātra-
dharma) itself encased in a [human] body to safeguard the
treasure of the Sacred Word? He is as if the aggregation of

85] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 12ᵈ
all powers, the sum total of all [good] qualities, or the accumulated
store of all the holy products of the world—standing out in
a visible form. 9
Lava, to himself—This great personage, how serene is the sight of him
and his prowess!
He is the one great source of confidence and friendship and
devotion all at the same time: of some pre-eminent merit [of
mine] he seems to be the [very] fruition, moving in a bodily
form. 10
Wonderful!
All enmity is at an end; a feeling of intense joy creeps over [my
soul]; that [former] impudence has departed, I know not where:
it is modesty that now sways me. Wherefore is it then that,
at the sight of him, I have so suddenly lost control over myself?
Or rather [it must be that] great men, like holy places, have
some priceless and inexplicable efficacy. 11
Rāma—Why then is it that this [boy], all of a sudden, alleviates my
sorrows and, through some cause unknown, fills my inmost soul with
affection? Or rather, that affection should at all be dependent upon any
[assignable] cause is contrary [to all experience].
What binds things together is some inward mysterious tie: it
is certainly not upon outward circumstances that affection rests.
For, at the rise of the sun, the lotus [of itself] blooms, and so,
when the moon rises, does the moon-gem (chandrakānta) ooze. 12
Lava—Chandraketu, who is this great personage?
Chandraketu—My dear friend, it is the venerable father.
Lava—So likewise then must he be to me, strictly-speaking (dharmataḥ),
since thou callest me thy dear friend. But there are, as I have learnt,
four persons, the worthy heroes of the Rāmāyaṇa story, who claim from
you this mode of appellation. So tell me [more] definitely.
Chandraketu—Understand then that he is my eldest sire.
Lava, transported with joy—What! The Lord of the Raghus [Rāma] in
person! Blessings on the dawn of a day that has brought me the sight
of this [divine] King! After looking [at him] with eager curiosity and
reverence. Sire, this is Lava, the pupil of the son of Varuṇa [Vālmīki],
saluting you.
Rāma—Come, long-lived one, come. Embracing him affectionately.
Enough, my dear boy, enough of this excess of modesty. Let me fold
thee again and again in a close embrace.

vi. 13ᵃᵇ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [86
Soft and smooth and tender like the mellowed (pariṇata) interior
of a full-blown lotus, and cool like the moon or like the juice of
sandal—thy touch fills me with joy. 13
Lava, to himself—Such is the causeless affection of this [great personage]
towards me! And I, in my stupidity, conceived hostility even towards
him, and carried my perverseness to the point of taking up arms against
him! Aloud. Will the venerable father now pardon this Lava his childish
folly?
Rāma—What is the fault that the dear one has committed ?
Chandraketu—Hearing from the escorts of the horse the proclamation of
Your Honour's valour, he has displayed his heroism.
Rāma—Why, this is just what adorns a Kshatriya.
For, a valorous man does not tolerate the encroaching valour of
others: such is his proper nature inherent in his constitution and
therefore not artificial; [and this explains] why it is that when
the divine Sun shines incessantly with his rays, the fire-stone,
as if in wounded pride, vomits flames. 14
Chandraketu—Even an intolerance [of this sort] becomes graceful only
in a [great] hero like him. For, let my revered father but see how the
jṛimbhaka missile discharged by my dear friend has thrown all these
forces into a dead stupor!
Rāma, observing—Dear Lava, withdraw the missile; and do thou also,
Chandraketu, console thy forces that are stock-still in paralysing stupor.
Lava falls into a meditation.
Chandraketu—So as you command. Exit.
Lava—The missile is at rest.
Rāma—Dear [Lava], these [jṛimbhaka] missiles and the secret spells for
employing and withdrawing them have a tradition of their own [without
which they cannot be imparted]:
Brahmā (Brahmán) and others, in the interest of the Sacred Truth
(bráhman), practised penances for over a thousand autumns. And
then those Sires (guru) of old obtained a vision of these [missiles]
as if these were the very fires of their own penances. 15
Then the occult formulae relating to the study of these holy [missiles] the
exalted Kṛiśāśva imparted to the son of Kuśika, [Viśvāmitra,] who had been
his pupil for over a thousand years; and that exalted one [Viśvāmitra]
[imparted them] to me. This then has been the previous succession [of
teachers]. I would know therefore whence hast thou, noble youth, received
the tradition?

87] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 19ᵇ
Lava—The missiles revealed themselves spontaneously to both of us.
Rāma, reflecting—Nothing is impossible. It may be some peculiar greatness
following as the result of the ripening of some pre-eminent merit. But,
how ‘both of us’?
Lava—We are two brothers—twins.
Rāma—Where then is the other?
[Voice,] behind the curtain—Bhāṇḍāyana, Bhāṇḍāyana!
“That the long-lived Lava has had an affray with the army of
the King”—is there any truth in this report? “Even so, dear
friend,” didst thou say? To-day then, in all the worlds, let
the title ‘supreme king’ come to an end, and let the fires of
the Kshatriya weapons be all quenched this day! 16
Rāma—Who now may this be—he, of a complexion dark-blue like
a sapphire, who even by the sound [of his voice] gives me a thrill
of horripilation and makes me seem like a kadamba [tree] that,
at the deep roar of an early and sable rain-cloud, instantly bursts
forth into buds? 17
Lava—This is he, my elder [brother], the noble Kuśa by name, [just]
returned from Bharata’s hermitage.¹
Rāma, in eagerness—Hither, my dear boy, hither call him, the long-lived one.
Lava—Very well. Walks about.
Then enters Kuśa.
Kuśa, twanging his bow in joyful assurance and pride—
If it is with the scions of the Solar race, with those kings who
have given their tribute of protection even unto [God] Indra, and
who ever since the times of Manu—that exalted Son of the
Sun-god—have ever, for consuming the high and the mighty,
set ablaze their fires of Kshatriya valour—if it is with these
that to-day I am to have a fight, then blessed is this my bow, the
string of which is radiant with the fierce-shooting flames that
flash from the fiery arms. 18
Moves about in hauteur.
Rāma—A rare abundance of manliness has this lovable (-ka) young
Kshatriya!
His eye, for even the mightiest of the mighty of the three worlds,
shows a disdain as if for mere chaff; his stride, at once firm and
proud, seems as though bending the earth low [in submission];
¹ See iv. 22³³ ᶠᶠ· above, p. 69.

vi. 19ᶜ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [88
even in his tender-youth he carries the hauteur of a mountain—
Is it the Sentiment of Heroism or of Pride that, [incarnate in
him,] is approaching me? 19
Lava, approaching [Kuśa]—Victory unto the noble one!
Kuśa—Well, long-lived [Lava], what is all this talk about the fight?
Lava—Ah, a mere trifle. Towards this one, let my noble brother, laying
aside his haughty bearing, behave with respect.
Kuśa—And why?
Lava—Because it is the King, the Lord of the Raghus, that is standing
there. He is affectionate towards us and is eager to meet you.
Kuśa, reflecting—Dost thou mean the hero of the Rāmāyaṇa story, the
guardian of the treasures of the Sacred Word?
Lava—The same.
Kuśa—He certainly is a great man, and to see him is sanctifying and
a thing to wish for! But how are we going to accost him, that is what
I do not see.
Lava—In the mode prescribed for a guru: with reverence.
Kuśa—But how in the world can that be?
Lava—Here is Chandraketu, son of Ūrmilā, a youth exceedingly noble,
who calls me his dear friend and offers me his friendship; so by virtue
of that relation this Royal sage becomes, strictly speaking, our father.¹
Kuśa—In that case, albeit a Kshatriya, we may show him deference
without incurring any reproach [for lack of self-respect].
Both walk about.
Lava—Let my noble brother look upon this great personality: [Are not]
his mien, his majesty, his serene-dignity sure indications of those countless
and extraordinarily noble achievements?
Kuśa, gazing attentively—
How graceful is his form—how hallowing his majestic presence!
Rightly indeed has the poet of the Rāmāyaṇa [Vālmīki] trans-
formed² the Goddess of Speech [into that poem]. 20
Approaching. Father, this is Kuśa, the pupil of the son of Varuṇa
[Vālmīki], making his salutation.
Rāma—Come, thou long-lived one, come:
Here am I eager, in my affection, to embrace thee whose form-
and-stature is lovely like a cloud filled with nectar. 21
Embraces him. To himself. Whose child then may this youth be? [He
seems to be—]
¹ The irony of the dramatic situation is obvious. ² Compare ii. 5ᵃᶠᶠ. above.

89] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 27¹
Like the innermost essence of affection exuded from every particle
of my body—as if the very substance of my soul, issuing from
here and standing there visibly before me—besprinkled, as it
were, with the very meltings of my heart when stirred up with
an intense emotion of joy: him as I embrace, he seems to be,
as it were, pouring a stream of ambrosial juice [upon me]. 22
Lava—Father, upon our brows the hot-rayed [sun] is burning. Will you
therefore deign to take a seat a while in the dense shade of this Sāla tree?
Rāma—Yes, if it is agreeable to my son.
*They move about and sit down in the proper manner.*¹
Rāma, to himself—
Ha! Although they are deferential in their conduct, these postures
in walking and standing and sitting, both of Kuśa and of Lava,
they are things that bespeak their [future] sovereignty. 23
These stately graces that seem inherently to belong to it: they
set off a body that is handsome and waxes lovelier at every
phase;—as do the pleasing rays the spotless jewel, or the drops
of honey the full-blown lotus. 24
I note further that they both possess in large measure the traits common
to the princes of the [royal] race of Raghu:
A form dark-blue like the throat of some lusty pigeon, the
shoulders broad like those of a young bull, the pose (āśaya)
[very] elegant; a look dauntless like that of a reposing lion, and
a voice deep-and-full like a festive drum! 25
Observing [more] closely. Ah! It is not merely with mine that their form
bears resemblance, but—
There are also those traits proper to the daughter of Janaka
[Sītā]—all to be clearly made out here in these two boys: It
is as if once again has come within the range of my sight that
face of my beloved wife in all the glory of a fresh and full-blown
lotus! 26
Lovely with the lustre of teeth clear as pearls, here are their
lips of the very same stamp, and also the same curve of the
ear. The eyes, to be sure, are not blue;² but they have the same
note of comeliness. 27
Thoughtfully. And this is that same forest, inhabited by the son of
Varuṇa [Vālmīki], where, I was told, the Queen was abandoned. And
¹ So as to reveal to Rāma their princely ² 'Not blue', but red, as a man's eyes should
breeding. be, according to Sāmudrika-śāstra.
12 [H.O.S. 21]