उत्तररामचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - संस्कृत मूल एवं हिन्दी व्याख्या)

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

232 TRANSLATION OF [ IV. 11—
to me in the relation of pupil, let that be as it is, in any
case the excellence of thy purity strengthens my adoration
for you, whether childhood or womanhood be thine, surely
thou art to be worshipped by the worlds, in virtuous beings
virtues are the object of reverence, not sex nor age
Kausalya—Alas! my woes burst forth (faints)
Janaka—Alas! what is this?
Arundhati—Royal sage, what else could it be? (Verse
12) That king, that happiness, those children, and those
days,—all this was recalled to her mind on beholding thee,
her friend and then in the hour of that terrible reverse of
condition thy friend lost her senses, for the minds of matrons
are soft as a flower.
Janaka—Alas! alas! truly I have become cruel in
every way, since I do not receive affectionately the beloved
wife of my dear friend, seen after a long time. (Verse 13)
He was a worthy relation, he was a dear friend, he was my
own heart, and he was to me incarnate joy, and the whole
object of my life, body and life and whatever is dearer than
these—what was not the beloved and august king Dasaratha
to me? Alas! this is that very Kausalya, (Verse 14)
Whatever great offence she or her lord had committed in
private I became separately the person to be blamed by
husband and wife; afterwards it depended upon me whether
they should be reconciled or continue to be angry, but
enough, why should I call to mind what overcomes and
consumes my heart?
Arundhati—Alas! Her heart has become motionless on
account of her breath being long suspended.
Janaka—Oh dear friend! (besprinkles her with the water
in his gourd)
Kanchuki—(Verse 15) Wonderful! Fortune, having
first shown like an agreeable friend an unmixed favourable-
ness, afterwards becoming terrible in her unexpected reverse,
increases exceedingly the anguish of the mind.
Kausalya—(recovering) O child Janaki, where art
thou? I remember the lotus of thy beautiful face on which
a pure smile used to play, the chief ornament of which
was the glory due to the recent celebration of marriage.
Brighten my lap once more, dear child with your limbs lovely
like glittering moonlight. The great king would always

-IV 15] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 213
say—This is the daughter in law of our mighty ancestors
of the race of Raghu but as Janaka's daughter she is only
a daughter to us.
Kanchuki —It was as the queen says. (Verse 16)
Although the king had five children the foe of Sambhu was
especially dear to him and although he had four daughters-
in law Sītā was as dear to him as his own daughter Śāntā.
Janaka —Oh my dear friend great king Daśaratha!
That thou art in every way dear to my heart how can I
forget thee? (Verse 17) Ordinarily the parents of the
girl honour the near relations of their son in-law; in our
connection that was inverted; thou didst strive to please me,
thou being such hast been snatched away by Death, and
Sītā also the cause of our connection, but curses on this my
life, a sinner in this horrible hell of a world.
Kausalyā —Daughter Sītā what am I to do? This cursed
life firmly abiding firm and fastened with adamantine
cement does not leave me wretched woman that I am.
Arundhatī —Take comfort, princess; occasionally one
must even desist from tears: moreover don't you remember
what your family preceptor said at the hermitage of Rish-
yasringa that what was fated to happen took place but that
it would end in good?
Kausalyā —How can I expect such a thing, all whose
hopes are past fulfilment?
Arundhatī —Then what dost thou think, princess? Do
you think that it was a false utterance? Surely it will come to
pass, thou oughtest not indeed to think otherwise, noble
matron of the Kshatriya race. (Verse 18) Let there be
no doubt with respect to the utterance of Brāhmanas to
whom the supreme light is revealed, for an excellent fortune
waits upon their word, they speak not an ineffectual speech.
(A great noise behind the scenes. All listen.)
Janaka —Oh! to-day being a holiday in honour of guests,
it is the noise of boys engaged in unrestrained sport.
Kausalyā —Indeed, childhood is the time when joy is
easily attained. (observing) Ha! who is this in their midst
that refreshes my eyes with proud limbs, beautiful and soft,
adorned with grace like that of dear Rāma when young?
Arundhatī —(with tears of joy, to herself) This is that
secret like ambrosia to my ears communicated to me by

234 TRANSLATION OF [IV. 18—
Gangā, but I do not know which of the two, Kusa and Lava,
this youth is. (Aloud) (Verse 19) Who is this that
being seen suddenly produces on my eyes the effect of
ambrosial collyrium, dark and soft like the leaf of the lotus,
decorated with the lock (of hair on his head), of noble
beauty, adorning as it were with his grace the crowd of boys,
as if he were that darling of mine, the joy of the house of
Raghu, again become a child?
Kanchuki:—This boy must surely be some Kshatriya in
the condition of a religious student, I think.
Janaka:—So he is, for—(Verse 20) on his back he
carries two quivers, one on each side, the heron feathers of
the arrows in which are kissed by his hair, his breast streaked
with the purifying mark of slight ashes, has on it the skin
of the deer, his lower garment dyed with red madder is held
fast by a girdle of Murva grass, and in his hand he has a bow
with a rosary and also a Pippala staff.
Revered Arundhati! What dost thou surmise? Whence
does this boy come?
Arundhati:—We have come only to-day.
Janaka:—Worthy Grishti! I feel exceedingly curious.
Therefore go and ask the revered Valmiki himself and say
to the boy" certain old people here wish to see thee."
Kanchuki:—As your Majesty commands (Exit)
Kausalya:—What say ye? Will he come when called in
this way?
Janaka:—How can good manners be wanting in one of
such a noble form?
Kausalya:—(observing) How is this? That dear youth,
after listening with modesty to the speech of Grishti and
dismissing the hermit boys, is coming towards us
Janaka:—(observing him for a long time). Ha! this is
strange! (Verse 21) There is an excess of great qualities
in him softened by modesty, youth and candour, capable of
being discerned by the wise, but not by the unwise. This
(excess of qualities) carries away my mind though dulled by
stupor as a very small piece of lode-stone attracts a mass of
iron.
Lava:—(entering) How shall I address my salutation to
these persons whose names, rank and family I do not know,
although they command my respect? (Thinking) This mode

-IV. 21 ] UTTARARĀMACHARITA: 235
of salutation is unobjectionable, as the elders say. (Approaches
respectfully) Lava thus bows to you in succession.
Arundhati and Janaka—Blessed boy, may you live long!
Kausalyā—Dear child live long!
Arundhati—Come here, dear boy (Seating Lava on
her lap, to herself) Happily, not only has my lap, but also
the cherished desire of my heart been fulfilled after a long
time
Kausalyā—Dear child! Come here too (taking him
on her lap) Oh! not only by his bodily frame which is
dark and shining like a half-opened blue lotus, but also by
his voice which is very deep like the cry of swans whose thro-
ats are astringent with (devouring) the filaments of lotuses
does he resemble Rāma, the touch of the boy's body, soft
like the fully developed interior of a lotus, is like the touch of
Rāma's. My child! let my look at thy lotus like face.
(raising his chin, observing it closely, with tears and
feeling) Royal saint! dost thou not see? When closely
examined his face resembles the moon-like face of my dear
daughter-in-law.
Janaka—I see, my friend, I see.
Kausalyā—Alas, my heart that is as if distracted prat-
tles something strange with reference to the boy.
Janaka—(Verse 22) In this boy are manifested, as
it were perfectly mirrored, all the very form, all the very
grace of my daughter and of the chief of the house of Raghu,
there is the same voice, the same natural modesty, and the
same auspicious majesty Ah destiny! why does my mind run
wavering in delusive paths?
Kausalya—Dear child! hast thou a mother? or remem-
berest thou thy father?
Lava—No, no.
Kausalyā—Then whose son art thou?
Lava—Of the revered Vālmīki.
Kausalyā.—Oh my darling! say what is fit to be said.
Lava.—This is all I know.
(A voice behind the Scenes)
Hear! hear! soldiers! Truly, this prince Chandraketu
commands that no one is to trespass on the neighbourhood of
the hermitage.

236 TRANSLATION OF [IV 22-
Arun and Jan. —Ha! ha! That dear Chandraketu is to
be seen to-day coming as he does on the occasion of guarding
the sacrificial horse, is surely a happy day.
Kausalyā — 'The son of dear Lakshmana commands,'
such are the words I hear—charming like drops of nectar
Lava —Noble Sir! who is this man named Chandra-
ketu?
Janaka —Thou knowest Rama and Lakshmana, the sons
of Dasaratha?
Lava —They are the heroes of the poem called Rāmā-
yana.
Janaka —Just so
Lava —How then can I not know them?
Janaka —Chandraketu is the son of that Lakshmana
Lava —Son of Ūrmilā then and the grandson of the
royal sage king of Mithila
Arund. —(Smiling) Oh! the boy has shown a great
knowledge of the poem
Janaka —(Reflecting) If you are so conversant with
that history, then answer me this question. What are the
names of the children of these sons of Dasaratha and from
what wives they were severally born?
Lava —This part of the poem has not been heard before
by me or by any one else
Janaka —What? has it not been composed by the bard?
Lava —It has been composed, but not published. However
a certain portion of it has been arranged in a different form,
full of sentiments and rendered fit for dramatic representa-
tion, and after writing it with his own hand, the revered sage
has sent it to the sage Bharata, the author of the aphoristic
work on dramaturgy
Janaka —With what object?
Lava —That revered sage Bharata will cause it to be
acted by the Apsarases.
Janaka —All this sounds extremely wonderful.
Lava —Moreover the revered Vālmīki has been exceedingly
careful in this matter. That manuscript was sent to the
hermitage of Bharata with some pupils and my brother
was despatched, bow in hand, as their escort to ward off
any possible danger
Kausalyā —My dear child! hast thou a brother too?

—IV. 22] UTTARARÂMACHARITA. 237
Lava—I have, the noble Kusa is his name
Kausalya—By the word 'noble thou meanest to say he
is the elder—
Lava—Even so, he is indeed my elder by order of birth.
Janaka—What, are you twins!
Lava—Quite so
Janaka.—Child, tell me to what point has the compo-
sition of the poem been brought down?
Lava—After the king distracted by the lying calumny
of the people had banished Sita the queen sprung from
sacrificial ground, Lakshmana, having left her alone in the
wood with the pains of child birth approaching, returned—
here the story stops.
Kausalya.—Oh! my dear child with beautiful moon like
face! I wonder what crowning termination of the cruel sport
of fate befell thy flower body when thou wast left alone in
the wood.
Janaka—Alas, my child! (Verse 23) Having ex-
perienced that insult and the dreadful forest, and that pain
produced by the hour of child birth, when the hosts of eaters
of raw flesh were encompassing thee about, thou must surely
have repeatedly thought of me as a protector in this fear.
Lava—(To Arund.) Noble lady! who are these?
Arund—This is Kausalya, this is Janaka. (Lava surveys
with great respect and sorrowful interest)
Janaka.—Oh! the wickedness of the citizens! Oh! the
precipitate action of king Rama! (Verse 24, first half)
While I brood unceasingly over this terrible thunderstroke
of calamity, it seems to me the time has come for my wrath
to blaze forth either with curse or bow
Kausalya.—(With dismay and trembling) Revered lady,
help! help! appease the incensed royal sage
Lava—(Verse 25) Such is mostly the state of mind of
the spirited that have received an insult
Arund—King! Rama is your son, and the poor subjects
are to be protected
Janaka—(Verse 24—the latter half) But in Rama's
case, peace to these both, for he is my treasure in the form of
a son, the citizens are chiefly composed of Brahmanas, children,
old and decrepit persons and women.

238 TRANSLATION OF [ IV. 25—
Boys —(entering in a state of excitement) Friend, we
have heard of a certain creature which they call a horse in
the country and we have seen the beast to-day with our own
eyes
Lava —They speak of the 'horse" in treatises on animals
and warfare, tell me then how it looks.
Boys —Listen. ( Verse 26 ) Behind he carries a flowing
tail, and that he waves continually, he has a long neck, his
hoofs are full four in number, he eats grass, he sheds lumps of
dung of the size of a mango, but what is the use of description ?
He is going far off, come, come, let us go after him (They
drag him by his deer skin and his hands )
Lava —( With a face expressing interest, consciousness
of offending and modesty ) Noble people, look, I am carried off
by these boys ( he runs about quickly )
Arund. and Jana. —Satiate thy curiosity, dear child
Kausalya —I as well you feel gratified by the speech and
form of one who has the forest in him Revered lady, when I
do not behold him, I feel as if I were robbed, therefore let us
advance and follow with our eyes for a time that boy of long
life, as he runs.
Arun. —How canst thou keep in sight that active fellow
who must have gone a great distance by this time ?
Kanchuki —( Entering) The revered Valmiki saith—
"In due time you will know all this."
Janaka —This is of very grave import Revered Arun
dhati, friend Kausalya, worthy Grishti! We will ourselves go
and see the revered Valmiki (exeunt all the old people).
Boys (entering )—Let our friend look at the wonderful
sight.
Lava —I see and understand Surely this is a sacrificial
horse
Boys —How do you know that!
Lava —Surely, you fools you must have read the section
devoted to it Do you not see ? 'For such a horse there are
guards armed with corslet, staves and quivers one hundred of
each sort" This force is evidently composed of soldiers so
armed. If you do not believe all this go and ask
Boys —Ho ! Ho ! For what reason does this horse roam
about guarded!

—IV. 26] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 239
Lava —(Wistfully to himself) Oh! As'vamedha is indeed
the mighty test of the superiority of world subduing Kshatri-
yas—that casts reproach upon all the rest of the warrior tribe
(Behind the Scenes).
(Verse 27) This horse is the banner or rather the
proclamation of valour of the only hero of the seven worlds,
the foe of the race of the ten headed Ravana.
Lava —(With pride) Ah! how irritating the words are!
Boys —What say ye! The prince is clever indeed!
Lava —Ho ho! Is then the world void of Kshatriyas
that proclamations are made in such a style?
(Behind the Scenes)
Yea, sir! whence can there be Kshatriyas as compared
to the great king?
Lava —Fie upon you impudent babblers! (Verse 28)
If they (Kshatriyas) are, they do exist, but what means this
threatening proclamation to-day? Why utter these words?
Here I carry off that (boasted) banner of yours. Ho! you
boys, surround the horse and drive it with clods of earth.
Let the poor thing graze among the deer
(Enter a man full of indignant pride)
Man —Curse on thy thoughtlessness! what didst thou
say? Surely the lines of very fierce soldiers will not put up
with an insolent speech even from a boy. Prince Chandraketu
is difficult to be subdued, so run quickly along yonder thicket
of trees before the prince who has his mind occupied with the
delight of beholding this wonderful wood advances.
Boys —Prince, enough of this horse! the lines of soldiers
with flashing weapons threaten the prince, and the hermitage
is far hence, therefore let us flee with the leaps of deer.
Lava —(Smiling) What, are the weapons really flashing?
(Twanging his bow) (Verse 29) Let this bow, lapping with
the tongue of its string its broad tooth like points, emitting forth
a terrible hoarse roar, enlarge its maw, imitating the yawning
of the machine-like jaws of death grinning when busy in
swallowing (the world)
(All walk round in proper order and depart).
End of Act IV.

240 TRANSLATION OF [ V. 1—
Act V.
(Behind the Scenes) Ho soldiers! Succour has come to
us! succour has come (Verse 1) Surely here is Chandra-
ketu advancing, having heard the noise of our fight, in a
chariot drawn by swift horses, which are galloping being
furiously urged on by Sumantra, having his bannerpole of
kovidara wood violently shaking on account of the uneven
ground (Enter in a chariot driven by Sumantra, Chandra-
ketu, bow in hand and with a feeling of joy and hurry mingled
with wonder)
Chandra —Worthy Sumantra, see, see (Verse 2) Here
is the hero boy of unknown lineage, having his lovely face
flushed with slight anger, having his five locks dancing up and
down, that showers in the front of battle a rain of arrows
upon my troops with his bow, the tips of which continually
twang with the string. Wonderful! Wonderful! (Verse 3).
The hermit-boy, being single handed, resembling a new and
unknown scion of the house of Raghu, excites my admiration,
whose arrows flame by thousands on all sides among the
dense array of soldiers, arrows—which cleave with a terrible
clash the temple joints of the elephants
Sumantra —Long lived one! (Verse 4) Having be-
held the boy exceeding in might gods and demons and
possessing also a form similar (to Rama), I call to mind Rama
when he had taken in hand his bow to destroy the foes of
Vis'vamitra's sacrifice
Chandraketu —But my heart is ashamed because many
direct their efforts against him alone (Verse 5) For this boy
alone is surrounded by my solders, the broad palms of whose
hands are full of multitudes of weapons fiercely flashing with
excessive pride, whose chariots ring with tinkling golden bells,
who are tumultuous with elephants resembling clouds and
raining down showers of rut.
Sumantra —Dear boy! what could these soldiers do against
him if they were united? Much more (are they helpless) when
scattered.
Chandraketu —Worthy sir, make haste, for this warrior
has begun to make a great havoc among our dependents. For,
(Verse 6) the hero, amplifying the noise of his bow string,
which gives pain to the ears of the herds of elephants that

—V. 6 ] UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 241
rear in the mountain bowers, that (noise) is swollen by the
loud beating of drums, makes, with the heaps of heads and
trunks which are still struggling and terrible, the earth as if
strewn with the remnants of food rejected by the wide mouth
of death sated with slaughter.
Sumantra.—(To himself) How can I allow dear Chan-
draketu to engage in single combat with such a warrior?
(Thinking) But I have grown old in Raghu's line and now
that the fight is impending, what way is there?
Chandraketu.—(with astonishment, shame and excitement)
Alas my troops have retired on every side!
Sumantra.—(Driving forth the chariot) Prince of long
life! that hero is within your call.
Chandraketu.—(Forgetfully) Noble sir, what name did
the heralds proclaim as his?
Sumantra.—Lava.
Chandraketu.—(Verse 7). Ho! great-armed Lava,
what hast thou to do with these soldiers? Here I am, attack
me, let fire be quenched in fire.
Sumantra.—Prince! look, look! (Verse 8) Being
summoned by thee, this youthful hero turns back from the
slaughter of the army, as a haughty lion's whelp on hearing the
roar of clouds from destroying the ranks of elephants.
(Then enters Lava with steady and haughty strides)
Lava.—Bravo, prince, bravo! Truly thou art a descen-
dant of Ikshvāku, therefore I shall just come (to meet you).
(A great noise behind the curtain)
Lava.—(Turning back proudly) What! do these leaders of
the army though defeated return eager for battle, and now
attack me. Curse on the wretches! (Verse 9) Let this
great, confused and wanton roar rising on every side like the
flood of the sea agitated by the wind of the day of doom be
swallowed by the accumulated flame of my fierce anger, which
is like the submarine fire from the mouth of the Vadava stirred
by dashing against mountains. (He walks about quickly).
Chandraketu.—O! youth! (Verse 10) Thou art dear to
me even from thy wonderful eminence of virtue, therefore
thou art my friend, whatever is mine is thine also, then why
dost thou deal carnage among thy own dependants? Surely I
Chandraketu am the only touch-stone of thy pride (of valour).
21

242 TRANSLATION OF [ V 10—
Lava—(Turning round with joyful excitement) '
. * * * to hear a speech of the
hen what have
(A fresh tumult behind the scenes)
Lava—(with anger and disgust) Alas, alas! I am annoy
ed by these men again and again impeding my meeting with
the hero (He advances towards them)
Chandraketu—Worthy sir! behold this sight worthy to
be beheld (Verse 11) This hero, having his eye fixed on
me with pride mingled with curiosity, having his bow raised
aloft, being followed by my army, resembles a cloud that bears
the bow of Indra, driven to and fro by a violent wind in two
(opposite) directions.
Sumantra—The prince only is able to see him, but I am
simply overpowered with amazement
Chandraketu—O princes! (Verse 12) Shame to you and
shame to me, that you have thus engaged in battle treating
him your equal, you innumerable, mounted on elephants,
horses and cars, against this one foot soldier, you sheathed in
mail against one wearing the holy deer skin as a garment, you
mature in age against one whose body is lovely by reason of
youth
Lava—(with pain) What! does he even pity me!
(thinking) Good! in order to prevent waste of time I will
paralyse the hosts with the weapons of stupefaction (Throws
himself into an attitude of contemplation)
Sumantra—Ho! how is this that the uproar of our army
ceases all of a sudden!
Lava—I shall now see that bold one (Chandraketu)
Sumantra—(with excitement) Prince I think that the
boy has invoked the Jṛimbhaka missile.
Chandraketu—What doubt can there be as to that?
(Verse 13) A terrible blending so to speak, of darkness and
lightning afflicts (renders useless) the eye even when concent
rated to behold objects, for it is first swallowed by gloom and
then set free, moreover this army stands motionless as in a
picture, surely it must be the weapon of stupefaction working
with invincible power Wonderful! wonderful! (Verse 14)
The heaven is overspread with stupefying weapons, black like
the darkness accumulated in bowers within the bowels of hell,

[—V 14] UTTARARÂMACHARITA 243
the flames of which gleam with a yellow brightness like that
of brass flashing when heated and which are as if the peaks of
the Vindhya mountain the caverns of which are brownish
with the lightning and clouds closing on them and which
(peaks) are blown off by harsh and fierce winds at the time
of the destruction of the world
Sumantra—But whence can he have derived the know-
ledge of the Jṛimbhaka weapons?
Chandraketu—I suppose from the revered Vālmīki.
Sumantra—It cannot be so dear prince with regard to
missile and particularly with the Jṛimbhaka missiles (Verse 15)
These were the offspring of Kṛis'ās'va from him they passed to
Kaus'ika he handed them over to dear Rāma and with him
they rest now
Chandraketu—Others too, whose minds are filled with the
light of Sattva and who are the seers of holy mantras see
everything themselves (without being taught)
Sumantra—Prince! be on thy guard thy rival hero has
returned
Two princes—(each to the other) Oh, how noble looking
this prince is (They behold each other with love and affection)
(Verse 16) Can it be our chance meeting can it be the
excellence of his qualities, or an ancient acquaintance intimately
formed in some previous life or some relationship between
us two unknown by the power of fate? My heart becomes all
attention on beholding him
Sumantra—Generally this is the way of living beings
that one person feels an ardent affection for some other person,
which worldly people call friendship of the planets and love at
first sight, the wise say that love is indescribable and without
any apparent cause (Verse 17) There is no preventing
that liking which is causeless for that is a thread composed of
affection knitting together beings internally
The two princes—(each to the other) (Verse 18) How
am I to discharge arrows against this body, lovely like a po-
lished fillet, on meeting which my frame through the desire of
embracing it has its hair standing on end? (Verse 19) But
what resource have I in dealing with one who has displayed
his stern valour unless I employ weapons or what is the use of
weapon of which such a man is not made the mark? What