१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

RANEE LAKSHMI BAI
precious pearls in the ocean are not to be found on its
surface. The Sûryakânta jewel does not give out flames
in the quiet of the night ; nor does the flint give up its
spark on soft cushions. They want resistance. Injustice
must make the mind restless ; really, not apparently,
every drop of blood must actually boil ; intense national
feeling is thus set aflame in such a furnace, the particles
of virtue begin to glow, the test goes on, the dross is
eliminated, then, the concentrated essence of virtues
begins to appear. In 1857, the heart of this our Mother-
land took fire ; then, a terrible explosion which would
deafen the world took place ;—A spark at Meerut, and
the whole country, which, under the roller of Dalhousie,
had been reduced to the monotony of a dead level and
seemed to be a heap of dust, proved to be a powder-
magazine filled with the most inflammable material. Just
as when a mighty rocket in a fireplay, fired in the air,
explodes, arrows and trees and various other picturesque
objects rise and rush and burn and die away, such was
the case of this gigantic Revolutionary Rocket ! Its length
is from Meerut to the Vindhyas ; its width from Pesha-
war to Dumdum ;—and it was fired ! Fire and flames
raged in all directions. Blood coming down like rain,
—sieges of Delhi, revenges of Plassey, massacres of Cawn-
pore, and the Sikandar Bagh of Lucknow ! Thousands
of heroes are fighting—and dying ; cities are burning.
Kumar Singh comes, struggles, falls ; the Moulvie comes,
struggles, and falls ; the throne of Cawnpore, the throne
of Lucknow, the throne of Delhi, the throne of Bareilly,
the throne of Jagadishpur, the throne of Jhansi, the
throne of Banda, the throne of Furrukabad, five thousand,
ten thousand, fifty thousand, a lakh of swords, flags,
banners, generals, horses, elephants—all are coming
out one after another, move about in the turmoil
of the raging fire ! Some are ascending one flame,
some another ; they poise themselves a while, reel,
fight, fall down unseen ! Everywhere battle and
thunder-storms ! A veritable volcanic conflagration this!
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