उत्तररामचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - संस्कृत मूल एवं हिन्दी व्याख्या)

212 'TRANSLATION OF [ III. 3-
Murala—(with astonishment) (Verse 3) Even the
unhappy turn of fortune of such persons proves very wonder-
ful when such (great) beings serve as instruments
Tamasa—But now the venerable Ganga having heard
from the lips of Sarayu of the expected visit of dear Rama
to Janasthana in connection with the Sambuka incident,
entertaining the same apprehension which affection made
Lopamudra to entertain, has come accompanied by Sita to
visit the river Godavari on the pretence of performing some
domestic rite.
Murala—The revered deity wisely thought so. For,
surely when dear Rama was in his capital, his attention being
taken up with those various occupations which are conducive
to the prosperity of the world, the distractions of his mind
were restrained whereas, being unengaged and having no
other companion but his grief, his entrance into Panchavati
will be a great calamity to him. How is queen Sita then to
comfort Rama?
Tamasa—The river Bhagirathi spoke, "Dear Sita, off-
spring of the sacrificial ground, to-day, as you know, is to be
the ceremony of tying the auspicious knot for counting the
twelfth year from birth of the long-lived Kusa and Lava.
Therefore worship with flowers gathered by thy own hand
thy ancient father in law the sun god, the dispeller of sin, the
progenitor of such a great family of royal saints belonging to
the race of Manu, owing to my power not even the sylvan
divinities shall be able to behold thee when thou art upon the
surface of the earth, much less mortals.' And I also received
this order "Tamasa, my daughter in law Janaki loves thee
much, therefore, be thou her companion.' And I now am
fulfilling my mission.
Murala—And I for my part will report this account
to the revered Lopamudra. I think that good Rama too
has arrived.
Tamasa—There emerging from a pool of the Godavari,
(Verse 4) Janaki comes to the wood, wearing a face beauti-
ful though with cheeks exceedingly pale and emaciated, by
the side of which her braid sways to and fro, as if she were
the incarnation of Pathos, or the pain of separation in
bodily form

—III 5] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 213
Murala —This is she, (Verse 5) resembling a charming
sprout cut off from its stem. Long and terrible grief wither-
ing the flower of her heart wastes her very pale and emaciated
frame, as heat produced in autumn the innermost petal of
the Ketakı.
(They walk about and exeunt)
Pure Vishkambha
(Behind the scenes)
A great mishap, a great mishap! (Then enter Sita occupied
in gathering flowers, listening with an expression of pathos and
longing expectation)
Sita —Ha! I think it is my dear friend Vasanti that
speaks.
(Again behind the scenes) (Verse 6) That young
elephant, which the queen Sita long ago nourished with tips
of Sallakı leaves gathered with her own hands, as it stood be-
fore her eager (for food)
Sita —What of him?
(Again behind the scenes) Sporting with his mate in the
water, that very elephant has been attacked and engaged by
another mighty elephant leader through pride (for his
strength)
Sita —(In confusion going forward a few steps) My lord!
protect, protect that son of mine. (Gesticulating recollection,
with dejection) Alas! Alas! Unfortunate that I am, the
same words to which I had been familiar for a long time per-
sistently follow me (stand foremost on my lips) at the sight
of Panchavati. Alas, my lord (so faints)
Tamasa (entering) —My child! take comfort! take
comfort!
(Behind the scenes) O Sovereign of balloon, stop here.
Sita —(Having recovered her consciousness, with joy and
fear) Ha! whence comes this reverberating utterance which
is strong and deep like the heavy roaring of a cloud filled with
water, which all of a sudden restores even a wretched person
like myself yearning with longing, the cavities of my ears
being filled with its sound?
Tamasa —(with tears of affection) O child! (Verse 7)
Why art thou in such a state on account of an indistinct
sound of uncertain origin, like a pea-hen startled and excited
at the sound of a raincloud?

214 TRANSLATION OF [ III. 7—
Sītā —Revered lady! Do you call it "Indistinct!" From
the combination of the notes I recognized it was my lord
who spoke.
Tamasā —The report goes that the king of the race of
Ikshvāku has come to Janasthāna to punish a Śūdra ascetic.
Sītā —I am glad to see that the king does not neglect
his kingly duties.
(Behind the scenes) (Verse 8). Here are those very
slopes of that mountain which has the Godāvarī in its vicinity,
which are full of numerous torrents and caves, where even the
trees and the wild animals were my friends, on which I dwelt
for a long time in the society of my dear wife.
Sītā —(Looking forth) Ha! is this my lord himself with
a form pale, attenuated and weak like the disc of the moon
in the morning, and recognizable only by his graceful and
dignified mien! Revered Tamasā, support me. (After utter-
ing these words she swoons in the arms of Tamasā).
Tamasā —Daughter! take comfort, take comfort.
(Behind the scenes) By this sight of Pañchavatī
(Verse 9) stupor first envelopes me (my senses) like a
column of smoke arising from the fire of grief smouldering
within, which will to-day blaze forth without restraint.
O my dearest! Jānakī!
Tamasā —(to herself) —This is what was feared by
the elders.
Sītā —(coming to herself) Alas! how is this?
(Again behind the scenes) Alas! Queen, my beloved
companion during my sojourn in the Daṇḍakā wood, princess
of Videha!
Sītā —Alas! alas! Having addressed me, a wretched
being, he has even swooned with the dark blue lotuses of
his eyes closing. Alas! How has he fallen on the surface
of the earth, helplessly and with his breath suspended!
Revered Tamasā! Save, save! bring to life my lord.
(So saying she falls at her feet).
Tamasā —(Verse 10) Do thou thyself, O blessed one,
restore to life the lord of the world, for dear is the touch of
thy hand, and in it he takes delight.
Sītā —Come what may, I do as thou biddest (exit in
haste).

-III. 10] UTTARARÂMACHARITA. 215
(Then is seen Râma, fallen on the ground being touched by
Sîtâ in tears, and reviving and full of joy)
Sita-(Somewhat delighted) I feel as if the life of the
three worlds has come back
Rama-Oh joy, what is this? (Verse 11) Can this be
the juice of the leaves of the sandal wood tree of Paradise?
Can this be a shower of the sproutlike lunar rays when
pressed? Can this be a revivifying elixir poured over my
heart, gladdening again my scorched life? Moreover,
(Verse 12) Surely this is that touch to which I was
formerly accustomed, which revives my soul, and soothes it,
which suddenly removing the swoon caused by grief, again
diffuses numbness by giving joy
Sita-(Withdrawing in a timid and excited manner)
This much even is a great deal for me at present
Rama-(sitting up) Surely I cannot have been favoured
by my loving queen Sita?
Sita-Alas! will my lord then search for me?
Rama-Well! Let me look about for her
Sita-Revered Tamasa! Let us move away. If the king
sees me he will be more angry with me for having approached
him without permission.
Tamasa-Oh my child! By the favour of the Ganges
thou hast been made invisible even to the sylvan deities.
Sita-Ah it is so
Rama-Ah, dear Janaki!
Sita-(Sobbing with excitement) My lord! This is indeed
inconsistent with what has happened (with tears) Or rather,
why should I, with an adamantine heart, be relentless to-
wards my lord who, kind-hearted, thus addresses me, an
unhappy woman, and whose sight it is not possible (for me) to
obtain even in another life? I know his heart and he also
knows mine
Rama-(Looking all round, in despair) Alas, there is
no one here
Sita-Revered Tamasa! What is the state of my heart
on beholding him under these circumstances, though he did
repudiate me without cause
Tamasa-I know it, daughter, I know it (Verse 13)
Indifferent from despair, and clouded with anger on account
of that unkind action, petrified as it were by this sudden

216 TRANSLATION OF [ III. 13–
meeting after this long separation and appeased on account of
his goodness, full of deep compassion (too) on account of the
piteous words of thy beloved, thy heart is as it were melted
with affection at this moment
Rama —Queen! (Verse 14) Thy touch, moist and cool
from affection, like incarnate favour, still gladdens me, but
where art thou, that causest the delight!
Sita —These are the mellifluous utterances of my lord,
which reveal a fathomless depth of affection, and overflow with
delight, by comprehending which I highly prize my existence,
though my unjust banishment is a dart (rankling in
my heart)
Rama —Or whence can my beloved be here! Surely this
must be Rama's delusion caused by his skill in constantly
thinking about her
(Behind the scenes) Woe! Woe! (then is recited the first
half of the stanza beginning "The young elephant which the
queen Sītā etc")
Rama —(pathetically and eagerly) What of him?
(Again behind the scenes)
(The second half "with his mate" etc is recited)
Sita —Who will now be appointed?
Rāma —Who is he, where is that wicked one, that at-
tacks the fondling of my dear wife, (particularly) in the
company of his mate? (rises)
(Entering in flurry) Vāsantī —How! his majesty Rama!
Sita —Oh! my dear friend Vāsantī!
Vāsantī —Victory, victory to the king
Rāma —(eying her) What! the queen's dear friend
Vasantī
Vāsantī —King! hasten, hasten! Descend from here to
the Godāvarī by the Sītātīrtha lying to the south of Jaṭāyu's
peak and rescue the pet of the queen.
Sītā —Alas! father Jaṭāyu, dreary appears this Janas-
thāna without you.
Rama —Oh, these allusions to past events cut my heart
to the quick.
Vāsantī —This way, my lord, this way.
Sītā —Revered lady, is it indeed true that even the
sylvan deities will not see me?

—III. 14] UTTARARÂMACHARITA. 217
Tamasa—Oh my daughter, the power of the Goddess
Ganges transcends that of all divinities, then why dost
thou thus fear?
Sita—Then let us follow (they then walk about)
Rama—Revered Godavari, I bow to thee
Vasanti—(observing) My Lord rejoice at the victory
of the queen's pet accompanied by his mate
Rama—May the long-lived one be victorious
Sita—Gracious heaven has my pet become so large?
Rama—O queen you are to be congratulated.
(Verse 15) That pet of thine, who, with his tender tusk
smooth like the fibre of a lotus stalk, shooting up, used to
draw, fair one the leaf of the lavali from the root of thy
ear, being now the victor of rut shedding elephants, has become
a recipient of all the blessings which attend upon youth
Sita—May he live long and may he never be separated
from this gentle-looking mate
Rama—Friend Vasanti, observe, observe, our pet has
learnt even the art of courting his beloved. (Verse 16)
For, after giving her morsels of lotus stalks up-rooted in frolic,
he has given to her mouthfuls of water perfumed with the
blooming lotuses he afterwards besprinkled her to her heart's
content with the shower of spray from his trunk, and then
at the end (of the bath) he held over her through affection a
lotus leaf with a straight stalk as an umbrella.
Sita—Revered Tamasa He then has grown so large,
but I do not know how big Kusa and Lava have become in
such a long time
Tamasa—As he is, so they are also.
Sita—Thus wretched am I, who am not only undergoing
unbearable separation from my lord but from my sons too.
Tamasa—Such is the decree of Destiny
Sita—To what purpose have I given birth to sons in
asmuch as my lord did not kiss their pure lotus-like faces, so
(charming) as they are, with their cheeks bright on account
of their teeth, a little thin, tender and white, on which
(faces) plays laughter accompanied by a charming sweet
sound (prattle) and decked with locks.
Tamasa—May it be (kissed) by the favour of the gods!
Sita—Revered Tamasa, my breasts are heaving and
overflowing with milk as I am thus put in mind of my sons,
19

218 TRANSLATION OF [III 16—
and now the proximity of their father has made me feel to
be in the midst of domestic surroundings for a moment
Tamasa —Need this be told ! Surely child is the utmost
limit of affection and it is the most powerful link to bind the
parents to one another (Verse 17) An offspring is really
the one knot of the hearts of the parents, since in it is
entred their affection
Vasanti —May your Majesty look also in this direction !
(Verse 18) Here is this same peacock, with his crest raised
up and appearing like a diadem of jewels, accompanied by
his mate, uttering his cry upon the Kadamba tree, whom
with new fledged feathers beautifully waving, your beloved
wife nourished day by day
Sita —(with admiration and tears of affection) It is
he, it is he
Rama —Rejoice, darling rejoice
Sita —So be it.
Rama —(Verse 19) I remember thee with affec-
tionate heart like a son, as thou wast made to dance by my
fair (wife) to the beatings of her tendril like hands, who was
adorning thee by the quick and charming play of her eye brows
and by her eyes that rolled round in their sockets as you moved
round Oh, even animals hold fast to old friendships
(Verse 20) This Kadamba tree which has put forth a few
flowers was reared by my darling
Sita —(Observing it with tears) My lord has rightly
recognised it.
Rama —(Verse 20 second half) This mountain
peacock appears to remember the queen because he falls into
an ecstasy on it, as in the company of a relative
Vasanti —Let your Majesty sit down here
(Rama sits down)
Vasanti —(Verse 21) Here is the stone slab in the
midst of the thickly growing and tender plantain grove on
which you used to recline in the company of thy beloved, it is
even now not deserted by the deer, because Sita used often to
sit here and give them grass
Rama —I cannot bear even to look at this

—III. 21] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 210
the same this is the very forest of Panchavati, this is the same
Vasanti, my dear friend these are the very regions of the forest
on the Godavari that witnessed our various confidential inter-
course these are the same beasts birds and trees that were
non-different to me from children and I am the same but all
this does not exist for me an unfortunate woman such has
turned out to be the change in the mortal world
Vasanti—Dear Sita how dont you see the condition of
Rama (Verse 22) He giving delight to our eyes by his
limbs lovely like a fresh blue lotus was ever new to us though
seen at pleasure and continually even he with his senses
distracted his complexion turned pale and his body emaciated
through grief can now be recognised but with great difficult
as the same and yet he is charming to the sight
Sita—I see it, friend, I see it
Tamasa—May you (ever) enjoy the sight of what is
dearest (your husband)
Sita—Alas destiny who could have imagined even in a
dream that I could be separated from him and he from me?
Then let me, though for a moment, as if I had obtained a sight
of him in another birth, behold my loving lord in the interval
between floods of tears (she remains looking at him)
Tamasa—(clasping her with tears) (Verse 23) Thy
eye, white sweet and beautiful shedding the tears of joy and
grief, that fall in abundant showers and pouring forth affect-
ion, having long eyelashes, turned up and stretched bathes
the lord of thy heart, like a stream of milk.
Vasanti—(Verse 24) Let the trees dropping honey
furnish an offering with flowers and fruit, let the winds of the
wood laden with the perfume of full blown lotuses blow gently
let the birds, with melodious tunes sing sweetly without ceas-
ing for here has king Rama come again in person to this wood
Rama—Come friend Vasanti sit here
Vasanti—(sitting with tears) Great king Is the prince
Lakshmana well?
Rama—(not hearing it) (Verse 25) On beholding
the trees, birds and antelopes which Sita used to nourish with
water, wild rice, and grass dispensed with her lotus hand a
strange indescribable emotion which is capable of breaking
(even) a stone, which is as it were the liquid essence of the
heart, comes over me

220 TRANSLATION OF [III 25—
Vasanti —Great king' I ask if the prince Lakshmana
is well.
Rama —(to himself) Ha! She calls me "great king", a
loveless mode of address, and with accents faltering from
weeping asks after the health of Lakshmana only, therefore I
believe she knows the Sita affair. (Aloud) Ah! the prince
Lakshmana is well
Vasanti —(weeping) My lord, why are you extremely
cruel?
Sita —Friend Vasanti! Why dost thou speak to him in
this way? My noble lord deserves kind words from every one,
specially from my dear friend.
Vasanti —(Verse 26) 'Thou art my life, thou art my
second heart, thou art the moonlight of my eyes, thou art
ambrosia to my body" With these and hundreds of such
sugared words having flattered that artless one—that very
one thou—but enough, what need of more talk in this
matter? (she then swoons).
Tamasa —It is but natural that she should thus break
off in her speech and faint.
Rama —Compose thyself, friend, compose thyself.
Vasanti —(coming to herself) Why then was this
unworthy act done by your Majesty?
Sita —Friend Vasanti! cease! cease.
Rama —Because people would not tolerate it.
Vasanti —For what reason?
Rama —They themselves know some reason (which is
incomprehensible to me).
Vasanti —(Verse 27) Oh, hard hearted one, fame
they say, is dear to thee, but can any infamy be more dread-
ful than this? What became of the fawn-eyed one in the
forest? Tell me, lord, what dost thou suppose?
Sita —Rather art thou Vāsanti cruel and hard hearted
who thus tormentest my noble lord who is already afflicted.
Tamasa —Nay, it is love and grief that speak thus.
Rama —Friend, what else could I think? (Verse 28)
Surely, her creeperlike body resembling a soft and tender
lotus, as if it were composed of moonlight, was torn to pieces
by wild beasts, when she moved slowly on account of the

-III 28 ] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 221
throbbing burden of her womb while her eyes rolled like
those of a timid fawn but one year old
Sita—My noble lord I am still alive
Rama—Oh dear Janaki, where art thou?
Sita—Alas alas! my noble lord is weeping aloud as if
he were an ordinary person.
Tamasa—Dear child it is but proper The afflicted
must extinguish their sorrow ( Verse 29 ) When a tank is
flooded an outlet is the only remedy When the mind is
agitated by sorrow it is sustained only by lamentation This
is especially the case with dear Rama to whom life has been
exceedingly painful in many ways. ( Verse 30 ) He has to
govern this world according to law with vigilant mind, sorrow
for his beloved withers his heart as heat a flower as he
himself repudiated thee it is hard for him to seek relief
from sorrow by weeping weeping is, indeed, a gain to him
in that he still breathes (continues to live on account of it)
Rama—Alas alas ( Verse 31 ) My heart that is
deeply affected is bursting but is not riven asunder in two
My shattered frame brings on stupor, but does not lose its
consciousness. an inward burning inflames my body, but
does not reduce it to ashes destiny strikes me piercing my
vitals, but does not cut off my life
Sita—Even so it is
Rama—Ye worthy citizens and inhabitants in the
country ( Verse 32 ) Ye would not like the queen as
reported to me to remain in my house, therefore I abandoned
her like grass in the uninhabited forest and did not even
mourn for her, but these various objects long familiar to me
move me, therefore I being helpless weep thus bitterly to-
day please forgive me
Vasanti—(to herself) Very deep is the tide of the
ocean of sorrow (Aloud) My lord, with respect to a matter
that is past summon courage
Rama—Friend! Why do you speak of courage?
(Verse 33) It is now the twelfth year since the world
was bereft of Sita, her very name has been blotted out, and
Rama still lives.
Sita—I am charmed by these words of my noble lord
Tamasa—Even so, my dear child. (Verse 34) These
words, though steeped in affection, should not be very dear

22 TRANSLATION OF [III. 34-
thee but appalling from the sorrow they reveal; they are
reams of honey mixed with poison that flow upon thee
Rama —Oh Vasanti ( Verse 35 ) Did I not indeed
endure in my heart a sharp shaft of sorrow, though piercing
the vitals, like a red hot javelin driven obliquely into my
heart or the venomous bite of a serpent ?
Sita —So I, wretched woman that I am, have again
become the cause of trouble to my noble lord
Rama —Though I had thus steached my heart very firmly,
still on seeing the various dear objects once familiar to me,
I experience this uncontrollable agitation For, ( Verse 36 )
breaking through whatever effort I make, though with
difficulty, to check the outburst of the emotion of grief that
swells beyond bounds there spreads over me with force some
indescribable distraction of the heart, as the current of water,
gushing with irresistible velocity, breaks through a dam
of sand
Sita —By this agitation caused by grief which has come
upon my noble lord, the dreadful outburst of which cannot be
arrested, my heart as it were forgetting its own sorrows is
indescribably bewildered
Vasanti —(to herself) The king has fallen in a painful
state I will therefore divert him (Aloud) Let my lord
honour these parts of Janasthāna long familiar to him by
looking at them
Rama —Just as you say (with these words he rises and
walks about).
Sita —I believe that the devices which my dear friend
thinks of to relieve his pain will only inflame it
Vasanti —(pathetically) Sire, Sire, ( Verse 37 ) thou
wast in this very bower of creepers, having thy eye directed
towards her path, when she tarried long on a sand bank of the
Godavari, having her attention attracted by the swans when
she was returning seeing you very much vexed she made
through fear a graceful suppliant folding of the hands like
the bud of a lotus
Sita —Thou art cruel, friend Vasanti!, thou art cruel, in
that thou dost again and again afflict me, wretched woman
and my noble lord by shaking the arrows of grief buried in the
centre of the heart.

-III 37 ] UTTARARÂMACHARITA. 223
Rama—Relentless Janaki! Thou seemest to be seen here
and there but thou dost not take pity upon me (Verse 38)
Alas queen my heart is bursting, the frame of my body
is falling asunder I think the world to be a void, I burn
within with thick flames my helpless soul sinks and is, as it
were engulfed in pitchy darkness and distraction paralyses
me from all sides, wretched man that I am, what shall I do!
(faints away)
Sita—Alas alas my lord has swooned again
Vasanti—My lord Take comfort take comfort
Sita—Alas my noble lord cursed am I, since there
comes over you on account of me a change of condition, which
is terrible on account of your life being put again and again
in danger—you who are the support of the welfare of the
whole world (so saying swoons)
Tamasa—Dear child Take comfort, take comfort. The
touch of thy hand alone will again be a means of reviving
dear Rama.
Vasanti—What does he not even now recover? Ah!
dear friend Sita Where art thou? Cause the lord of the life
to recover
(Sita hurriedly approaches Rama and touches him on the
heart and fore head).
Vasanti—O joy! dear Rama has revived.
Rama—(Verse 39) This touch be-smearing as if with
ambrosial unguents the internal and also the external elements
of my body, though it brings me back to life suddenly, diffuses
through my frame another numbness, as it were, from joy
(with his eyes closed from delight) Friend Vasanti, thou
art fortunate
Vasanti—In what respect, my lord?
Rama—Friend, what else? Janaki is again with me!
Vasanti—Oh, my lord Rama! where is she?
Rama—(shows that he feels the pleasure of her touch).
Look surely here she is just in front of thee
Vasanti—My lord! when I, unfortunate one, am already
consumed by grief for my dear friend, why dost thou add
fresh fuel to the flame by this wild talk terrible even to the
piercing of my vitals.
Sita—I wish to withdraw, but this my hand, fastened as

224 TRANSLATION OF [III. 39—
if with adamantine cement, has become full of perspiration,
helplessly paralysed, and trembles as if utterly powerless,
on account of the touch of my noble lord which, owing to his
enduring affection, is cool and refreshing to me, which quickly
assuages my long and terrible sorrow.
Rama —Friend! How can you speak of wild talk?
(Verse 40 first half) That hand which, wearing bracelets,
was long ago taken by me in the marriage ceremony, which
was familiar with (i. e. possessed the same qualities as) the
rays of the moon cool as ambrosia,
Sita —My noble lord! thou art now the same.
Rama —(latter half of Verse 40) That very same
hand of hers, beautiful on account of its resemblance to snow-
flakes and like a tender lavali shoot, has again been obtained
by me. (With these words he seizes it)
Sita —Alas alas! charmed by the touch of my lord I
have surely committed a blunder
Rama —Friend Vasanti! Having my senses fascinated
(paralysed) with joy I am not master of myself on account of
excitement. Therefore do you hold her for a moment.
Vasanti —Alas This is simply madness.
(Sita quickly snatches away her hand and withdraws) —
Rama —Alas alas! what a blunder! (Verse 41). That
leaf like hand numbed, perspiring and trembling, has suddenly
slipped away from mine that is numbed, moist and trembling.
Sita —Alas! Alas! with eyes at one time wandering, at
another fixed, at one time dazed, at another wildly rolling, he
is not yet able to compose himself.
Tamasa —(Looking at Sita with affection, admiration and
smile) (Verse 42) My dear child, with her limbs perspiring
having the hair erect, and quivering, has become, through the
delight caused by the touch of her beloved, like the branch of
a kadamba tree agitated by the wind, and washed by recent
showers, with its buds just appearing.
Sita —(To herself) Ah! having thus lost control over my
heart I am ashamed in the presence of revered Tamasa, what
indeed will be her thoughts to behold this repudiation and yet
such an affection on my part?
Rama —(Looking in every direction) What is she not
here! Oh cruel Sita!

-III. 42 ] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 225
Sīta —Indeed I am cruel in that seeing thee in this state
I yet remain alive
Rāma.—Oh queen! where art thou? Take pity on me
Thou oughtest not to abandon me in this plight.
Sīta —Ah, my noble lord This seems to be the reverse
(of the truth).
Vāsantī —My lord, be calm By means of thy own
transcendental firmness steady thy soul, that is gone to excess
(in its sorrow) Whence could my dear friend be here?
Rāma —Evidently she is not here otherwise how could
even Vāsantī not see her! I wonder whether it can be a dream
But then I have not slept. How, indeed could Rāma sleep
Undoubtedly, it must be that almighty spirit of delusion due
to my brooding (over her image) that repeatedly haunts me
Sīta —It is I, cruel woman that have deluded my noble
lord
Vāsantī —My lord, look, look (Verse 43) Here is the
car of black iron belonging to Rāvana broken by Jatāyu, and in
front of thee are the asses with mouths like those of goblins
of which the skeletons alone remain, it was from this place
that the enemy having cleft with his sword the roots of
Jatāyu's wings rose up into the sky carrying Sīta trembling
(with wrath) thus resembling a cloud in which the lighten-
ing flashes
Sītā —(in terror) My noble lord father Jatāyu is being
slain and I am being carried off, therefore help
Rāma —(Fuming with emotion) Ha! villain, that robbest
me of Sīta and Jatāyus life, whither art thou going?
Vāsantī —Oh king, meteor of destruction to the race of
the Rākshasas! Hast thou even now an object of wrath left?
Sīta —Alas! I also have become distracted.
Rāma —Quite strange is my present change of condition
(Verse 44) That former separation from the fair eyed one
(Sīta), which produced in the world the sensation of
astonishment by means of the combats of brave warriors in
which there were constant incidents causing diversion, assur-
edly ended in the slaughter of my enemies through the
existence of remedies, but how is this present never-ending
irremediable separation to be borne without complaining?

226 TRANSLATION OF [ III 44-
Sita—Never ending! Alas! wretched woman that I am,
I am undone.
Rama—Oh misfortune! (Verse 45) In what place
art thou, my dearest, where even the alliance of the monkey
chief is of no avail to me, where the strength of the apes is
fruitless, fruitless too is the wisdom of Jambavat, where even
the son of the wind cannot have access, and even Nala, the son
of Vis'vakarman, cannot make a path, whither even the
arrows of Lakshmana cannot penetrate?
Sita—I am made to esteem very highly that former
separation (at the present moment.)
Rama—Friend Vasanti! the sight of Rama is now sim-
ply painful to his friends. How long shall I keep you
weeping? Give me leave now to depart.
Sita—(with emotion and bewilderment embracing
Tamasa) Revered Tamasa, my lord is now departing! (A-
swoons.)
Tamasa—Dear child! Take comfort, take comfort. We
also must go to the feet of Bhagirathi to perform the
auspicious ceremony of the birthday rites of the long-lived
ones, Kus'a and Lava.
Sita—Revered lady, be pleased. Let me behold, even for
a moment, the person whose sight it is not easy to obtain.
Rama—I have now an associate in the performance of
the As'vamedha.
Sita—(with agitation) Who, my noble lord?
Rama—A gold image of Sita.
Sita—(Breathing a sigh of relief with tears) Thou art
now indeed my noble lord, my lord has now plucked out the
dart of the shame of my repudiation.
Rama—Let me now comfort my tear-bedewed eye by
looking at that.
Sita—Blessed is she (the image) that is highly esteemed
by my noble lord and that by pleasing my lord has become
the pillar of the world's hope.
Tamasa—(embracing her with smiles and tears of affection)
Oh my dear child in speaking thus thou praisest thyself.
Sita—(Hanging her face down with a bashful expression
—aside) I am laughed at by the revered Tamasa.
Vasanti—This meeting is a great favour to me. But in

—III 45 ] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 227
for thy going let it be so ordered as to prevent any neglect
of duty
Rāma —Vāsantī has now become unfavourable (to me)
Tamasā—My child, come, we must go
Sītā—(sorrowfully) Let us do so
Tamasā—But how canst thou go, (Verse 46) the
contact of whose eye, lengthened with longing as it were and
rivetted on thy beloved, can be checked only with heart-
rending efforts
Sītā—my repeated bow to the lotus-feet of my noble lord,
a sight of which is only procured by extraordinary merit
(She swoons away)
Tamasā—Dear child Take comfort, take comfort
Sītā—(Coming to herself) How long can one expect to
behold the full moon through an opening in the clouds?
Tamasā—Oh wonderful is the chain of events (arrange-
ment of incidents) (Verse 47) The pathetic sentiment,
though one in itself, being modified by various occasions, seems
to assume different forms as it were, as water assumes the
various modifications of eddies, bubbles, and waves and it is
all, nevertheless, but water only
Rāma —O prince of balloons, come here
(All rise)
Tamasā and Vāsantī—(To Sītā and Rāma respectively)
(Verse 48) May the earth and the river of the gods
together with such divinities like ourselves and that great
preceptor, the originator of metres, and the sage Vasishtha,
too, accompanied by Arundhatī bestow upon you blessings
tending to great future prosperity
(Exeunt all)
Act IV.
(Enter two ascetics)
First—Saudhātaki! observe the delightful appearance
which the revered Vālmīki's hermitage presents to-day on
account of the elaborate preparations made for the guests who
are assembled here in large numbers. For, (Verse 1) the
deer belonging to the hermitage drinks to his fill of the warm
and sweet scum of the boiled wild rice that remains over and
above what has been consumed by his beloved doe that has

226 TRANSTATION OF [ IV. /1—
recently brought forth young ones, and the fragrance of the
cooking of vegetables mixed with the fruit of the jujube is
diffused abroad slightly blended with the spreading odour of
cooked rice mixed with ghee.
Saudhātaki—Welcome are the gray bearded folks of
various descriptions who have been the cause of this holiday
First—(Laughing) Your reason for showing respect for
the elders is a peculiar one indeed!
Saudhātaki—O Dāṇḍāyana what is the name of the guest
that has come to day bringing with him a great company of
old folks?
Dāṇḍāyana—A truce to your joking! The fact is, it is
the revered Vasiṣṭha who has to day arrived from the hermit
age of Ṛśyaśṛṅga conducting the wives of the great king
Daśaratha with Arundhatī at their head Then why do you
chatter in this wild way?
Saudhātaki—Ah! Vasiṣṭha?
Dāṇḍ.—Certainly
Saudhā.—I however thought he was a tiger or a wolf
Dāṇḍa—How so? what do you mean?
Saudhā.—Why, the moment he arrived he greedily
feasted upon that poor tawny calf
Dāṇḍāyana—In acceptance of the holy text—the Madhu
parka should be accompanied with a dish of fleshmeat—house
holders offer a heifer a big bull or a goat to a Śrotriya coming
as a guest And the writers of holy law enjoin this as a duty
Saudhātaki—Oh you are caught.
Dāṇḍ.—How so?
Saudhā.—For, when the worshipful Vasiṣṭha arrived
the heifer was slaughtered. But to-day when the royal sage
Janaka came the revered Vālmīki offered the Madhuparka with
simple curds and honey, while he let off the heifer
Dāṇḍāyana—The holy sages prescribe this mode of recep
tion only in the case of those who have not abstained from
flesh, but the revered Janaka has abstained from flesh.
Saudhā.—For what reason?
Dāṇḍ.—The moment he heard the sad calamity that be-
fell Sītā, he took to the life of an anchorite and it is some years
since he has been practising religious austerities in the penance
grove of Chandradvīpa.

—IV. 1] UTTARARĀMACHARITA 220
Saudhātaki —Why then has he come here?
Dānda —To see the revered Vālmīki, his old and inti-
mate friend.
Saudha —Has he had an interview with his relations to-
day or not?
Dānda —It was only just now that the revered Vasiṣṭha
sent the venerable Arundhatī to Kausalyā to say 'thou must
come in person and see the king of Videha.
Saudha —Just as these old folks are met together, let us
likewise meet the boys and celebrate by playing the festive
occasion of a holiday. Where then is Janaka? (They walk
about.)
Dānda —Here is that aged royal sage Janaka, an ex-
pounder of Brahma who having paid his respects to Vālmīki
and Vasiṣṭha now takes up his seat at the root of the tree
outside the hermitage who (Verse 2) indeed is tormented
by grief for Sītā ever clinging to his heart, like an old tree
with fire spreading within. (Exeunt both).
End of mixed Vishkambhaka.
[Then enters Janaka.]
Janaka —(Verse 3) The grief produced by that great
calamity, inflicted upon my child, which was sharp, heart-
wounding and painful does not cease, but being poignant and
continually felt, and as if ever fresh though of long stand-
ing, still grinds through my vitals like a saw. What a hard
fate! My wretched body, though its essential elements are
dried up by old age, by overbearing grief and again by
frequent penances as Parāka, Sāntapana and others, and thus
deprived of its support, does not fall dead, and the Rishis
think those sunless worlds called Andhatāmisra are allotted to
those who slay themselves. The terrible agony of my grief,
which is as it were fresh even after many years and the
vividness of which is brought out by continual brooding, does
not cease. Oh! dear Sītā, sprung from sacrificial ground, such
is the lot of thy birth that has developed itself, that on account
of shame I cannot even weep freely. Alas! my daughter!
(Verse 4) I remember thy lotus-like face as a child, prone
to capricious smiles and tears, in which glittered the points of
some soft bud-like teeth, the sweet prattle of which was
faltering and senseless. O revered Earth, you are very hard
20

230 TRANSLATION OF [IV. 5–
hearted, indeed!* (Verse 5) Why did you bear, O cruel
one, the destruction in that manner of that daughter of yours
whose greatness you the fire, the sages, Vasiṣṭha's wife and
Gaṅgā, nay even the divine sun, the progenitor of Raghu's
race himself, knew, whom you brought forth as the goddess of
speech did learning and who herself was of divine rank like
any of the preceding?
(Behind the curtain) This way, this way, your exalted
ladyship and great queen.
Janaka—(Looking) Ha! the revered Arundhatī, with
Gṛṣṭi showing her the way. (rising up) But whom could
he mean by great queen? (observing) Ah, ah! How is it that
she is my dear friend Kausalyā, the lawfully wedded wife of
the great king Daśaratha? Who could believe that it was she?
(Verse 6) She was in the house of Daśaratha like the
goddess of prosperity. Or rather she was the goddess of
prosperity herself, what need of the particle of comparison?
Alas! that very lady has become as it were a changed being by
the power of fate, a strange being of grief all compact, alas!
the reverse of destiny! (Verse 7) The sight of that very
person, who was formerly an embodied feast to my eyes, has
now become intolerable like brine to a wound.
(Then enter Arundhatī, Kausalyā and Chamberlain)
Arundhatī—I tell thee the command of the spiritual
guide of thy family addressed to thee was this—thou must
come in person and see Videha's king—it was for this reason
that I was sent, then why this great hesitation at every step?
Kanchuki—Queen! fortify thyself. I request thee to
comply with the injunction of the revered Vasiṣṭha.
Kausalyā—The necessity of beholding the lord of Mithilā
at such a time makes all my sorrows break out again at once.
I cannot compose my heart, the main roots of which are
cracking.
Arundhatī—What doubt is there about this? (Verse 8)
The sorrows of mortals, produced by separation from relations,
though continually felt, become at the sight of some very dear
person intolerable, and surge around us as if with a thousand
streams.
*In the text this sentence has by oversight been printed above
verse 4 instead of below it.

—IV. 8] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 231
Kausalyā—How can I show my face in the presence of
that royal sage her father after what has happened to my
dear daughter in law!
Arundhatī—(Verse 9) Here is thy estimable
relation, the chief of the house of Janaka to whom the saint
Yājñavalkya expounded the whole knowledge of Brahma.
Kausalyā—Here is that royal saint, the father of my
dear daughter in law, the delight of the heart of the great
king (Daśaratha) Alas! alas I am made to remember those
days which were charming on account of the absence of
dejection. O Destiny! All that is no more.
Janaka—(approaching) Revered Arundhatī, Janaka
of Videha whose banner is the plough bows to you.
(Verse 10) With head resting on the ground I honour
thee by whom thy husband though a storehouse of holy light,
though certainly greatest even among the great sages of old,
considers himself purified, thee who art the cause of welfare to
to the three worlds, who art to be worshipped by the whole
earth like the goddess of the dawn.
Arundhatī—May the supreme Light shine upon thee!
May the god that blazes and stands beyond the reach of
darkness purify thee!
Janaka—Worthy Gr̥ṣṭi is that mother of the king
who protects his subjects, all right!
Kañcukī—(To himself) We are cruelly and unre-
servedly reproached (Aloud) Royal saint! Thou oughtest
not to inflict fresh sorrow, as thou dost by this anger, upon
the queen, who is already very sorrowful, and has long lost
the sight of the moon face of dear Rāma. It was surely some
lamentable misfortune of dear Rāma also. For hearing that
some dreadful slander was spreading everywhere among the
citizens and the country folk, who, being mean minded, would
not believe in the purification by fire, his Majesty committed
that piece of cruelty.
Janaka—(angrily) Ha! who indeed is this so-called fire
that he should presume to purify my daughter? Alas! After
we have been insulted by Rāma, we are again insulted by
persons talking in this way.
Arundhatī—(Sighing) Even so! To mention fire in
connection with my darling is derogatory. The word Sītā speaks
enough. Alas, daughter! (Verse 11) As for thy standing