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

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]

vi. 27²—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [90
such here are the looks and the age and the prowess of these two [boys].
Now as to the missiles being self-revealed to them, let me see: Can it
really be that the permission which, in the course of our viewing those
pictures, I gave unto the missiles has had its effect? For, even in the case of
the ancients, we never have heard of any missiles obtained without a [formal]
handing over. There is also this my heart’s extreme joy-and-sorrow that
affords to my wavering mind [further] assurance. Often had I perceived
that it was twins that the Queen would bring forth. With tears:
In those days gone by, when our love, once formed, had grown
with the growth of familiarity, I was the first, with the practised
feel of my hand, to discover, in the confidence of privacy—her
eyes lowered nevertheless in her inborn bashfulness—that it was
twins that were in store for her. It was some days later that
she discovered it. 28 Weeps.
Shall I then, in some way or other, ask them [directly]?
Lava—What can this mean, Father?
Unto this face that is as a blessing to the world, with this shower
of tears, you are lending the beauty of a white lotus glistening
[lit. besprinkled] with dew-drops. 29
Kuśa—But don’t you see, my dear boy?—
Without his Queen, Sītā, to the Lord of the Raghus what thing
is there that may not be painful? For, with the loss of one’s
beloved, the whole world, it is said, becomes a wilderness! On
the one hand, that [extreme] degree of love, and here, on the other,
is this separation that is endless! Why askest thou thus then,
as if thou hadst never studied the Rāmāyaṇa? 30
Rāma, to himself—Oh, they talk as if the matter did not concern them:
no need therefore of asking any [direct] question. Thou wretched heart!
What means this thy sudden transport of emotion? Not being able to
contain within me the anguish of my heart, I am commiserated even by
these boys! Well, I will change the topic. Aloud. There is current,
my dear boys, a report about what they call ‘Rāmāyaṇa’, a panegyric of
the Solar race, the outpouring of the exalted Vālmīki’s learning-and-
eloquence (Sarasvatī). I wish, therefore, out of curiosity, to hear some
part of it.
Kuśa—That entire story is [quite] familiar to us. Here, to begin with
(tāvat), are these two stanzas,¹ coming in a chapter at the end of the
‘Bālacharita’, that rise into my memory.
¹ The Calcutta recension of the Rāmāyaṇa the other recensions the readings differ.
gives these very stanzas near the end of See Notes.
the Bāla-kāṇḍa (Gorresio, i. 78¹³–¹⁵); in

91] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 36³
Rāma—Repeat [them], my dear boy.
Kuśa—“It was her nature that made Sītā dear unto Rāma’s mighty
heart; but she endeared herself all the more unto him by reason
of her [good] qualities. 31
So also was Rāma unto Sītā dearer than her very life: only their
heart knows the extent of each other’s affection.” 32
Rāma—Alas! Exceedingly cruel is this blow upon the very vitals of my
heart! Ha, Queen! So indeed it then was! Oh, how tormenting are
these affairs of the world—fraught¹ with capricious reverses [of fortune],
extremely painful, and all terminating in void phantoms!
Where now is that joy which, springing from an absolute [mutual]
confidence, knew no bounds? Where that mutual assiduousness
[for each other’s comfort], and where those fathomless charms
of novelty? In pleasure or in pain where indeed [can I now
find] that unison of hearts?—and yet this my cursed heart (prāṇa)
does continue to beat and will not cease! 33
Woe and alas!—
That period wherein were revealed to me, as in one flash, those
[hundreds and] thousands of my dear [Sītā’s] charms—of that
period beset with painful memories, the memory recurs to me
now. 34
For then, little by little, each succeeding day leaving its mark
upon them, the breasts of my fawn-eyed [Sītā] kept expanding
slowly like a bud; and then also it was that, strengthened by
the concord of our age and our love and our longings, the God
of Love had his opportunity (sphurati) to rage freely in our
hearts, but demurely in the outward-expression (vapushi). 35
Lava—Here is another stanza² addressed by the Lord of the Raghus unto
the Queen Sītā in the course of their pleasure-trip in the outskirts
[vana] of the Chitrakūṭa [mountain] close by the [river] Mandākinī.—
“As if set purposely for thee, here in front is this slab of stone;
all around it this kesara tree has rained as it were a rain of
flowers!” 36
Rāma, with a bashful smile and a mixture of love and pathos—Children
are indeed artlessly-simple, especially if they be forest-bred. Alas, Queen!
Dost thou remember what transports of unreserved endearments we did
then have? Alas, alas!
¹ Or, devoid of all real relations, positive or ² See Rāmāyaṇa, Bombay recension, the extra
negative. canto after ii. 95, stanzas 5–6.

vi. 37ᵃ—] Bhavabhūti — Uttara-Rāma-Charita [92
[Thy face] bedewed with the cooling drops of sweat and radiant
with thy moonlike forehead upon which thronged thy tresses as
they blew to the breezes wafted gently from over the Mandākinī
[river]—with thy cheeks glistening and [thy forehead] no longer
marked with the [wonted] kuṅkuma-spot¹—thy face gentle with
the mild curve of thy unadorned ears: it is as if I were seeing
it now vividly (utprekshyate) before me! 37
Remains stock-still [in meditation], with pathos. Alas, alas indeed!
After a long, long meditation, when one creates [in fancy] and
puts before him the image of his love, it is by no means the case
that such [an image], although [the actual object be] far off, does
not fill one with reassurance; but with the dissolution of that
[product of] imagination, the whole world becomes [once more]
a void wilderness, and thereafter, as if upon a heap of blazing
husks, the heart seems to be broiling! 38
[Voice,] behind the curtain—
Alarmed at the report of the boys' affray, Vasiṣṭha and Vālmīki
and the [widowed] Queens of Daśaratha, Janaka along with
Arundhatī: from the far distant hermitage they are in sooth all
coming hither, very slowly—their frames tottering with age, and
themselves slow with fatigue, but hurrying with their mind. 39
Rāma—How, the exalted Arundhatī and Vasiṣṭha and the Queen-mothers
and Janaka—are they all even here? Alas! How indeed can I meet
them [now]? Observing, and with pathos. Ha! That father[-in-law]
Janaka also should have come right hither—this is like the blow of
a thunderbolt to me, ill-starred that I am!
After having seen that union of father [Daśaratha] with [my]
father[-in-law Janaka] on that festive occasion of the marriage
of their children—[a marriage] approved by Vasiṣṭha and others,
all overjoyed at the desirableness of the connexion—after that,
why am I not torn to a thousand shreds as I, following upon
such a terrible disaster [to my wife], behold, in this his present
plight, Janaka, this friend of my father? 40
[Voice,] behind the curtain—Woe and alas!—
Upon seeing suddenly, in his present plight, the Lord of the
Raghus [Rāma], shorn of all his glory save his innate-majesty,
these sorrow-stricken Queen-mothers—after reviving Janaka who
¹ Saffron (kuṅkuma) forms the indispensable Respecting the incident as given in the
adornment of every married woman. In Rāmāyaṇa, see the Notes.
this case it was temporarily rubbed off.

93] Act VI, Princes Recognized — Translation [—vi. 42³
was the first to fall into a swoon—are themselves going into
a swoon! 41
Rāma—Alas, father! Alas, mothers!
Seeing that for her who was, of Janaka's and of Raghu's family,
the all-in-all of auspiciousness, I showed no compassion,—vain is
your [present] compassion for me! 42
I will go forthwith to attend upon them. Rises.
Kuśa and Lava—This way, this way, father!
All move about in pathetic flurry and exeunt.
END OF ACT VI
CALLED
PRINCES RECOGNIZED.

ACT VII
Then enters Lakshmaṇa.
Lakshmaṇa—Ho, my worthy Sirs! To-day the exalted Vālmīki, as ye
know (khalu), has summoned, along with ourselves, [our] subjects from
towns and districts, with all Brahmans and Kshatriyas; and he has also,
by his own [spiritual] power, secured the presence of hosts of Gods and
Demons, [Apes and other] animals, the Serpent-lords with their retinue:
in fact, the whole assemblage of Beings movable and immovable. And
I am directed by the noble [King, Rāma] as follows—"Dear Lakshmaṇa,
the exalted Vālmīki has invited us to witness his own play that is to be
enacted by heavenly nymphs. Go, therefore, to the banks of the Ganges,
which is to be the place for the concert, and seat the audience properly."—
I have accordingly assigned proper seats to all the assemblage of Beings
mortal and immortal. And here, now,—
Is the noble [King, Rāma] who, even while carrying on the life-
and-functions (āśrama) of royalty, has to follow the rigorous
course of a hermit’s life: he is coming hither out of deference
to [sage] Vālmīki. 1
Then enters Rāma.
Rāma—Dear Lakshmaṇa, have the distinguished spectators (prāśnika)
taken their seats?
Lakshmaṇa—They have.
Rāma—And those two boys—Kuśa and Lava—let them have accorded to
them a position similar to [that of] Prince Chandraketu.
Lakshmaṇa—Considering Your Lordship’s affection for them, that is just
what I have done. Here is spread out the Royal seat. Both sit down.
Rāma—Sirs, let the play begin.
Stage-manager, entering—The exalted son of Varuṇa, [Vālmīki,] truthful
in his utterances, thus commands the world movable and immovable—
“Here is what dawned upon us in our spiritual insight—a certain composi-
tion of ours pure-and-edifying and full of the Pathetic and the Marvellous
sentiments. Do you, therefore, because of the importance of the issue
[connected with it,] pay attention to the same.”