The Ramayan of Valmiki (eBook)

Canto XXIV. The Spells.

  Vasishtha thus was speaking still:

The monarch, of his own free will,

Bade with quick zeal and joyful cheer

Rama and Lakshman hasten near.

Mother and sire in loving care

Sped their dear son with rite and prayer:

Vasishtha blessed him ere he went;

O'er his loved head the father bent,

And then to Kusik's son resigned

Rama with Lakshman close behind.

Standing by Visvamitra's side,

The youthful hero, lotus-eyed,

The Wind-God saw, and sent a breeze

Whose sweet pure touch just waved the trees.

There fell from heaven a flowery rain,

And with the song and dance the strain

Of shell and tambour sweetly blent

As forth the son of Raghu went.

The hermit led: behind him came

The bow-armed Rama, dear to fame,

Whose locks were like the raven's wing:(147)

Then Lakshman, closely following.

The Gods and Indra, filled with joy,

Looked down upon the royal boy,

And much they longed the death to see

Of their ten-headed enemy.(148)

Rama and Lakshman paced behind

That hermit of the lofty mind,

As the young Asvins,(149) heavenly pair,

Follow Lord Indra through the air.

On arm and hand the guard they wore,

Quiver and bow and sword they bore;

Two fire-born Gods of War seemed they.(150)

He, Siva's self who led the way.

  Upon fair Sarju's southern shore

They now had walked a league and more,

When thus the sage in accents mild

To Rama said: "Beloved child,

This lustral water duly touch:

My counsel will avail thee much.

Forget not all the words I say,

Nor let the occasion slip away.

Lo, with two spells I thee invest,

The mighty and the mightiest.

O'er thee fatigue shall ne'er prevail,

Nor age or change thy limbs assail.

Thee powers of darkness ne'er shall smite

In tranquil sleep or wild delight.

No one is there in all the land

Thine equal for the vigorous hand.

Thou, when thy lips pronounce the spell,

Shalt have no peer in heaven or hell.

None in the world with thee shall vie,

O sinless one, in apt reply,

In fortune, knowledge, wit, and tact,

Wisdom to plan and skill to act.

This double science take, and gain

Glory that shall for aye remain.

Wisdom and judgment spring from each

Of these fair spells whose use I teach.

Hunger and thirst unknown to thee,

High in the worlds thy rank shall be.

For these two spells with might endued,

Are the Great Father's heavenly brood,

And thee, O Chief, may fitly grace,

Thou glory of Kakutstha's race.

Virtues which none can match are thine,

Lord, from thy birth, of gifts divine,

And now these spells of might shall cast

Fresh radiance o'er the gifts thou hast."

Then Rama duly touched the wave,

  Raised suppliant hands, bowed low his head,

And took the spells the hermit gave,

  Whose soul on contemplation fed.

From him whose might these gifts enhanced,

A brighter beam of glory glanced:

So shines in all his autumn blaze

The Day-God of the thousand rays.

The hermit's wants those youths supplied,

As pupils use to holy guide.

And then the night in sweet content

On Sarju's pleasant bank they spent.

Canto XXV. The Hermitage Of Love.

Soon as appeared the morning light

Up rose the mighty anchorite,

And thus to youthful Rama said,

Who lay upon his leafy bed:

"High fate is hers who calls thee son:

  Arise, 'tis break of day;

Rise, Chief, and let those rites be done

  Due at the morning's ray."(151)

At that great sage's high behest

  Up sprang the princely pair,

To bathing rites themselves addressed,

  And breathed the holiest prayer.

Their morning task completed, they

  To Visvamitra came

That store of holy works, to pay

  The worship saints may claim.

Then to the hallowed spot they went

  Along fair Sarju's side

Where mix her waters confluent

  With three-pathed Ganga's tide.(152)

There was a sacred hermitage

  Where saints devout of mind

Their lives through many a lengthened age

  To penance had resigned.

That pure abode the princes eyed

  With unrestrained delight,

And thus unto the saint they cried,

  Rejoicing at the sight:

"Whose is that hermitage we see?

  Who makes his dwelling there?

Full of desire to hear are we:

  O Saint, the truth declare."

The hermit smiling made reply

  To the two boys' request:

"Hear, Rama, who in days gone by

  This calm retreat possessed.

Kandarpa in apparent form,

  Called Kama(153) by the wise,

Dared Uma's(154) new-wed lord to storm

  And make the God his prize.

'Gainst Sthanu's(155) self, on rites austere

  And vows intent,(156) they say,

His bold rash hand he dared to rear,

  Though Sthanu cried, Away!

But the God's eye with scornful glare

  Fell terrible on him.

Dissolved the shape that was so fair

  And burnt up every limb.

Since the great God's terrific rage

  Destroyed his form and frame,

Kama in each succeeding age

  Has borne Ananga's(157) name.

So, where his lovely form decayed,

  This land is Anga styled:

Sacred to him of old this shade,

  And hermits undefiled.

Here Scripture-talking elders sway

  Each sense with firm control,

And penance-rites have washed away

  All sin from every soul.

One night, fair boy, we here will spend,

  A pure stream on each hand,

And with to-morrow's light will bend

  Our steps to yonder strand.

Here let us bathe, and free from stain

  To that pure grove repair,

Sacred to Kama, and remain

  One night in comfort there."

With penance' far-discerning eye

  The saintly men beheld

Their coming, and with transport high

  Each holy bosom swelled.

To Kusik's son the gift they gave

  That honoured guest should greet,

Water they brought his feet to lave,

  And showed him honor meet.

Rama and Lakshman next obtained

  In due degree their share.

Then with sweet talk the guests remained,

  And charmed each listener there.

The evening prayers were duly said

  With voices calm and low:

Then on the ground each laid his head

  And slept till morning's glow.

Canto XXVI. The Forest Of Tadaka.

When the fair light of morning rose

The princely tamers of their foes

Followed, his morning worship o'er,

The hermit to the river's shore.

The high-souled men with thoughtful care

A pretty barge had stationed there.

All cried, "O lord, this barge ascend,

And with thy princely followers bend

To yonder side thy prosperous way

With naught to check thee or delay."

  Nor did the saint their rede reject:

He bade farewell with due respect,

And crossed, attended by the twain,

That river rushing to the main.

When now the bark was half way o'er,

Rama and Lakshman heard the roar,

That louder grew and louder yet,

Of waves by dashing waters met.

Then Rama asked the mighty seer:

"What is the tumult that I hear

Of waters cleft in mid career?"

Soon as the speech of Rama, stirred

By deep desire to know, he heard,

The pious saint began to tell

What paused the waters' roar and swell:

"On high Kailasa's distant hill

  There lies a noble lake

Whose waters, born from Brahma's will,

  The name of Manas(158) take.

Thence, hallowing where'er they flow,

  The streams of Sarju fall,

And wandering through the plains below

  Embrace Ayodhya's wall.

Still, still preserved in Sarju's name

  Sarovar's(159) fame we trace.

The flood of Brahma whence she came

  To run her holy race.

To meet great Ganga here she hies

  With tributary wave:

Hence the loud roar ye hear arise,

  Of floods that swell and rave.

Here, pride of Raghu's line, do thou

In humble adoration bow."

  He spoke. The princes both obeyed,

And reverence to each river paid.(160)

They reached the southern shore at last,

And gaily on their journey passed.

A little space beyond there stood

A gloomy awe-inspiring wood.

The monarch's noble son began

To question thus the holy man:

"Whose gloomy forest meets mine eye

Like some vast cloud that fills the sky?

Pathless and dark it seems to be,

Where birds in thousands wander...