Paumacariya 28
English (machine translation) 28
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28.1
Then on another occasion, while wandering the earth, Nārada heard
that the daughter of Janaka, Sītā of supreme beauty, was promised to Rāma.
28.2
Then, having flown through the vault of heaven, Nārada went to Mithilā;
with a heart eager to see the maiden, he approached Sītā's palace.
28.3
Seeing him advancing, radiant with his crown of long matted hair, suddenly
Sītā, her limbs trembling with agitation from fear, retreated deep inside the palace.
28.4
Entering in pursuit of her, he was stopped by the female door-keepers;
quarreling with them, he was seized by the royal guards.
28.5
As soon as the men said, "Who is this? Strike him with blows of the fist!",
Nārada, terrified at heart, flew up and fled.
28.6
Resting upon Mount Kaphallāsa, he began to reflect:
"Now I shall cast that haughty young girl into an ocean of misery!"
28.7
Reflecting thus, he went quickly to the city of Rathanūpura;
then, in a garden pavilion, he painted Sītā's portrait on a canvas.
28.8
Just then the noble Candragati, together with Bhāmaṇḍala,
went out from the city to that very garden for the purpose of sports.
28.9
Right there in that garden pavilion, Prince Bhāmaṇḍala,
seeing the form of the maiden painted on the canvas, was suddenly dejected.
28.10
He let out deep sighs, grieved, and babbled incoherently;
night and day, seized by brooding, he found no sleep.
28.11
He did not desire fragrant perfumes, flower-garlands, food, or bathing rituals;
with a mind focused on nothing else, he grew wasted in limb after limb.
28.12
Knowing that prince to be in a state of love, Nārada then,
going to him with confidence, presented himself to his sight.
28.13
Seen by Bhāmaṇḍala, [the prince] stood up quickly, bowed to him,
offered him a seat, and as he sat down, said: "O sage! Listen:
28.14
By someone in the garden pavilion, this captivating maiden has been painted;
if you know the truth, tell me whose daughter this is?"
28.15
As soon as he was asked this, Nārada then said in praise:
"In Mithilā there is a king named Janaka, son of Indraketu;
28.16
his wife is Videhā; their daughter is this supreme maiden,
endowed with youthful qualities, renowned by the name of Sītā.
28.17
Or why are you so pleased merely seeing her image in a painting?
Who indeed is capable of describing her grace and charms?"
28.18
Having spoken thus, Nārada departed wherever he pleased with great haste;
Bhāmaṇḍala too spent his days pierced by the arrow of the god of love.
28.19
"If within a few days I do not obtain that jewel of a maiden,
then surely I shall not live, bitten by the serpent of love."
28.20
Knowing his son there to be tormented by the beauty of Sītā, Candragati
arrived at Bhāmaṇḍala's side together with his beloved wife.
28.21
Then Candragati said: "Dear son! Do not be sorrowful in this way;
I will go and seek the hand of that maiden who resides in your heart."
28.22
Having consoled his son, Candragati said to his own wife:
"How can such an alliance between Vidyādharas and humans take place?
28.23
It is not fitting for us to go to the abode of a mortal of the earth;
or if she is not given by him, what honor will our word have then?
28.24
Therefore, O noble lady, without losing time I will devise some means;
staying right here, I shall bring that maiden's father."
28.25
Summoning [a Vidyādhara] named Capalagatii into solitude,
the king told him everything, beginning with Bhāmaṇḍala's distress.
28.26
By his lord's command, Capalavega went quickly to the city of Mithilā;
assuming the form of a horse, he wandered about terrifying the people.
28.27
Seeing the untamed horse in the midst of the city, the lord of men
then said: "Seize this extraordinary steed, never seen before!"
28.28
At the king's word, he was seized by men with halters in their hands
and placed in the stable, his body adorned and smeared with saffron.
28.29
He stayed there for one month; then, arriving in great haste,
a palace attendant spoke to the king:
28.30
"O lord! Listen, an elephant like Airāvaṇa has been seen in the forest;
after a short distance, see him being captured, fierce in pride!"
28.31
As soon as this was said, the king went forth mounted on an elephant;
and reaching that place, he beheld an excellent rutting tusker.
28.32
Seeing the elephant in an inaccessible pool, the lord of men then said quickly:
"Bring some horse; holding the reins with strength, I shall mount him."
28.33
Right then, that horse of formidable pride and power was brought;
leaving the noble elephant, the lord of men mounted him.
28.34
As soon as he mounted, Capalavega flew into the sky as the horse;
raising a great cry of despair, the warriors returned to their city.
28.35
Then, having crossed many countries, near a Jina temple
the king quickly caught hold firmly of the branch of a tree.
28.36
Having descended from that excellent tree, he saw a lofty mansion / made of gold, illuminating the ten directions.
28.37
Drawing his sword, free from fear, he approached the gateway; / then there he saw a pool in the middle of a garden.
28.38
He beheld a temple of the lord of Jinas, radiant with rays of various jewels, / which seemed like Indra's abode descended from heaven.
28.39
Having entered within, he saw seated on a lion-throne an image / of the Lord, the founder of the path, adorned with long matted locks and a crown.
28.40
Having folded his hands in reverence, he suddenly fainted; then, regaining composure, / with a mind humbled by devotion, he performed the auspicious ritual of praise.
28.41
And having performed the ritual of homage, Janaka sat there in astonishment. / Leaving the form of the horse, Capalagatai also went to his own city.
28.42
Bowing at his master's feet, having arrived, he reported that Janaka was captive: / 'He has indeed been placed in the middle of a garden near the Jina temple.'
28.43
Hearing that Janaka had arrived, the lord of the Vidyādharas was pleased. / Taking grand worship-offerings, he quickly went to that Jina temple.
28.44
Mounted on a celestial aerial car, surrounded by noble warriors, he was seen by Janaka; / and [Janaka] thought: 'Who is this lord of sky-farers who has arrived here?'
28.45
Janaka, not knowing his intention and nature, hid inside the lion-throne. / While he remained there, Candragati performed worship.
28.46
And having performed the auspicious praise in due order with twelve circumambulations, / he then began to sing the virtues of the Jina, taking up a vīṇā:
28.47
'Bowed to by the lords of the gods upon the summit of the mountain, accompanied by auspicious sounds made by Kinnaras, Siddhas, and Yakṣas, / destroyer of birth, old age, separation, and dense karmas—bow down always with reverence to Ṛṣabha, lord of Jinas!
28.48
You are the self-born Lord, the four-faced one, the grandfather, Viṣṇu, the Jina, the three-eyed one, / possessor of an immaculate body of infinite bliss, self-awakened, teacher of the excellent dharma!
28.49
Worshiped by gods, men, moon, and sun, the abode of the supreme glory of hundreds of various virtues, / yielding the fruit of incomparable, unshakable, auspicious bliss—supreme Jina of good conduct, you are my refuge!
28.50
Bow down to him who has conquered malice, passion, and fear, who destroys the path of fear and evil rebirth, / the preceptor of the path of dharma eager in right action, who dries up the vast ocean of heavy karma!'
28.51
While he was singing thus, Janaka slipped out from inside the lion-throne; / and he was seen by Candragati, who then addressed him.
28.52
And he said: 'Tell clearly: who are you, sir, and where do you dwell? / For what reason do you remain here in the Jina temple?'
28.53
[Janaka replied:] 'In the city of Mithilā, I am named Janaka, son of Indraketu; / and I was brought here, abducted by some illusory horse.'
28.54
Having conversed and paid mutual respects, both sat upon comfortable seats, / filled with affection, engaging in conversation born of trust.
28.55
Knowing him to be a king, Candragati said: 'Janaka, listen! / I have heard previously that you have a maiden daughter.
28.56
Let that maiden, suitable for Bhāmaṇḍala, be given to my son. / I shall be deeply obliged by you, Janaka; of this there is no doubt.'
28.57
He replied: 'Lord of sky-farers, listen first with an attentive mind to my words: / that maiden has been given to the son of Daśaratha, Lord Rāma.'
28.58
Again Candragati said: 'For what reason was that maiden / given by you to the son of Daśaratha? I have great curiosity about this.'
28.59
[Janaka said:] 'In Mithilā there is my realm, abundant with wealthy and prosperous people; / it was completely devastated by Mlecchas and semi-barbarians.
28.60
When battle ensued, all the Mlecchas were conquered by Rāma— / [men] possessing power like Rākṣasas, who could not be defeated even by gods.
28.61
And once again my entire realm was settled and freed from fear; / by the grace of Rāma, it became filled with wealth and jewels.
28.62
For that service, that maiden, possessing an abundance of beauty, youth, and virtues, / was clearly bestowed upon Rāma; this secret has been told to you.'
28.63
Hearing this speech, the Vidyādharas said in great anger: / 'Janaka, you lack discrimination! You do not perceive what should and should not be done.
28.64
What is the big deal about Mlecchas, who are like beasts and deficient in strength? / When they are routed in battle, fame does not accrue to noble warriors.
28.65
A crow finds delight in a dry tree; a child has fondness for poisonous fruit; / in the same way, one without discernment desires a union of an inferior with an inferior.
28.66
Janaka, abandon this wretched alliance with an earth-dweller! / Forge an enduring affection with a Vidyādhara!
28.67
Candragati is like a god in fortune, a heroic lord of sky-farers; / give your maiden to him! What count is a pedestrian [earth-dweller]?'
28.68
Janaka in turn replied: 'Why do you disparage earth-dwellers? / Men become Tīrthaṅkaras, Cakravartins, and Haladharas!
28.69
Having enjoyed Bharata realm, many born in the Ikṣvāku lineage, / their feet revered by Asuras and gods, have attained the immovable, unsurpassed liberation.
28.70
In that very great lineage, born from the womb of Sumaṅgalā as the son of Anaraṇya, / in the foremost city, is the king named Daśaratha.
28.71
He has five hundred noble young wives endowed with beauty and virtue; / and he has four high-spirited sons, foremost among whom is Padma.
28.72
Knowing Rāma's valorous quality and his supreme favor, / for that reason I assigned my own daughter, an excellent maiden, to him.'
28.73
The Vidyādharas said: 'Janaka, hear our firm resolve: / indeed, you proudly display an excessively exalted pride in Rāma!
28.74
This very jewel of a bow, Vajrāvarta, guarded by gods— / if Rāma brings it under his control, then, having achieved his goal, let him take the maiden!
28.75
If, however, Rāma cannot bring the jewel of a bow, Vajrāvarta, / under his control in the midst of kings, then how can the maiden be his?'
28.76
Then those foremost sky-farers, taking Janaka and the bow, quickly / set out toward Mithilā; and Candragati went to his own city.
28.77
Then, decorated, with auspicious shouts of victory resounding, / surrounded by a crowd of many people, Janaka entered his own residence.
28.78
Vidyādhara kings, with various weapons in their hands and rich in forces, / encamped on all sides in the outer district of Mithilā.
28.79
[Seeing] the supreme majesty, pride, and vigor of the foremost sky-farers, / King Janaka reflected, letting out long sighs.
28.80
Then [Queen] Videhā went to his dwelling along with noble women; / having sat down, she said: 'Lord, why are you anxious about another woman?'
28.81
"Or tell me, what woman are you pondering in your mind? / I shall bring her this very instant; do not be distressed like this!"
28.82
Having been spoken to thus, Janaka then said to his beloved: / "You do not know the matter; hear the cause of my anxiety.
28.83
Yesterday I was carried to Mount Vaitāḍhya by that illusory horse; / from there, having made an agreement, I was released by the lord of the Vidyādharas:
28.84
'If Rāma brings the excellent bow Vajrāvarta under his control, / then the maiden shall be yours, but not in any other manner.'
28.85
And I, wretched and in captivity, consented to everything. / The Vidyādharas brought the bow here, outside the city.
28.86
If, however, Padma does not string that great bow, / then the girl will be carried off by the sky-farers; there is no doubt about this.
28.87
A period of twenty days was set for them by me, meritless as I am; / after this, they will certainly take [her] away by sheer force."
28.88
Hearing this speech, Vaidehī, her body filled with sorrow, / began to wail, both her breasts drenched with tears from her eyes:
28.89
"O lord, what indeed have I, ill-fated woman, done to destiny, / because of which it fashioned this body as an abode of many sorrows?
28.90
Not satisfied with [taking my] son, destiny is intent on abducting my daughter! / May this girl not become the support of my affection!
28.91
No sooner do I, of evil karma, reach the end of one sorrow / than fate has already assigned a second, even heavier one!"
28.92
The king said to the weeping [queen]: "Good lady, cast aside your sorrow! / Karma done in a past life makes the whole world dance."
28.93
Having consoled his wife, Janaka had the wide ground all around the excellent bow / beautified and splendidly adorned.
28.94
Kings from all around were summoned for her svayaṁvara, / and a messenger was swiftly dispatched to Sāketa for Rāma as well.
28.95
Hearing the messenger's words, Padma, accompanied by a great host of warriors, / together with Lakṣmaṇa and Bharata, arrived at the city of Mithilā.
28.96
All the rulers of men went to Mithilā together with their mothers and wealth, / and they were treated with utmost honor by Janaka with a gracious heart.
28.97
The Vidyādharas and humans, their bodies adorned with all ornaments, / then sat down on the prepared seats along with their entire retinues.
28.98
Then Sītā, surrounded by seven hundred maidens in the bow-hall / and richly adorned, looked upon the bulls among kings.
28.99
Then the chamberlain said: "Maiden, this is Rāma, captivating to the mind, / the son of King Daśaratha, with splendor resembling a divine prince.
28.100
Near him is his younger brother, mighty-armed Lakṣmaṇa; / also Bharata and Śatrughna—these two noble princes.
28.101
Maiden, [here is] the great-souled Harivāhana, Meghaprabha, and Citraratha; / then Mandira, Jaya, Śrīkānta, Durmukha, Bhānu,
28.102
King Subhadra, Budha, Viśāla, and the steadfast Śrīdhara, / Acala, Bandhurudra, and the heroic king Śikhin.
28.103
These and many other excellent rulers of men, born of pure lineages, / have come here for your sake, fair-formed one, for the bow test."
28.104
The ministers proclaimed: "Whoever here strings the bow, / he shall be chosen by the maiden; of this there is no doubt."
28.105
As soon as this was said, all the heroes, casting off their waistcloths, / gradually began to advance toward the bow.
28.106
As the warriors drew closer and closer, the bow emitted fire / resembling flashes of lightning, breathing out sighs like a terrifying serpent.
28.107
Terrified of the fire, some there covered their eyes with their hands / and fled back along their path, tumbling over one another.
28.108
Others, standing far off and seeing the terrifying display of flashing serpents, / trembled with shaking bodies, struck dumb and bewildered in all directions.
28.109
Struck by the fiery wind of the serpents, others fell like palāśa leaves, / their bodies incapacitated by swooning, while some champions were paralyzed.
28.110
Some said: "If we indeed return alive from this place, / then we shall give various kinds of gifts to the wretched and needy!"
28.111
Others said: "We shall spend our time with our own women; / what is the use of this beautiful maiden?"
28.112
Still others said: "This illusion was created by someone lacking merit, / and set up as the cause of death for many rulers of men."
28.113
Meanwhile, Padma, his body adorned with moving earrings, diadem, and ornaments, / walking like an excellent elephant, approached the vicinity of the bow.
28.114
Then those great serpents returned to their natural state, becoming supremely gentle; / the bow too ceased to emit flames, and was seized at once by Rāma.
28.115
Placing it upon an iron stool, he strung the excellent bow swiftly; / at that very moment, the sky became covered with clouds of dust.
28.116
The mountains shook, rivers flowed backward, / and the circle of directions turned coral-colored, blazing with streaks of meteors and lightning.
28.117
On all sides, fierce thunderbolts fell with terrible roars; / the sun lost its splendor, and the people became alarmed with terror.
28.118
When the world was caught in such a dissolution-like vortex, / Lord Padma bent that excellent bow before the eyes of all the kings.
28.119
At that moment, the gods in the sky released a shower of choice flowers, / proclaiming "Well done!" amidst musical instruments resounding with shouts of victory.
28.120
Rāma twanged that excellent bow violently and proudly, / just as peacocks cry out mistaking it for clouds of the new rainy season.
28.121
That multitude of people, agitated like the ocean, gradually regained confidence; / and at that very moment, wide-eyed Sītā looked at Rāma.
28.122
With her body hair thrilling, experiencing satisfaction born from the bond of love, / moving gracefully, she stood beside Rāma.
28.123
Having set down the bow, Padma sat happily upon his seat; / he shone with Sītā like the Bodiless One subject to Rati.
28.124
Taking that bow, Lakṣmaṇa bent it with joy; / he drew it with pride, producing a roar resembling an agitated ocean.
28.125
Seeing the prowess of the two, all the Vidyādharas, awe-struck, / gave eighteen excellent maidens endowed with virtues.
28.126
The Vidyādharas went swiftly to the excellent city of Cakravāla; / when the report was narrated, Candragati became downcast.
28.127
Looking upon Rāma, complete with firm power and radiance, / Bharata began to grieve, but came to his senses in that very instant:
28.128
"The lineage and father of both of us two people are one and the same; / only, Rāma is of wondrous deeds because of good karma done in a previous life."
28.129
With eyes resembling lotus petals, a lotus-like face, and fair as the interior of a lotus, / this woman became Padma's wife by virtue of her own power.
28.130
Skilled in all arts and scriptures, Kaikeyī, knowing her son was downcast, / clearly related to her beloved husband the true state of Prince Bharata's mind:
28.131
“O master! I have perceived that Bharata's mind is deeply tormented by sorrow; / act quickly so that he does not fall into world-weariness.
28.132
There is a brother of Janaka named Kanaka here in Mithilā, / and from Suprabhā was born his excellent daughter, Subhadrā.
28.133
Let her svayaṁvara be quickly proclaimed among the kings, / before Bharata falls into supreme world-weariness this very day.”
28.134
Having spoken thus, that matter was related by Daśaratha to Kanaka / in its entirety, and he too accepted the command.
28.135
Kanaka swiftly summoned all the kings there; / even those who had gone to their lodgings assembled right there.
28.136
When they were seated in order, the maiden, the daughter of Kanaka, arrived; / passing over the kings, that Subhadrā chose Bharata.
28.137
O Śreṇika! Behold the exceedingly uneven nature of treacherous karmas! / Bharata, though awakened [to truth], was afterward captivated by a wife.
28.138
Looking at one another with embarrassed faces, the kings said among themselves: / “Whomever a woman has been destined for by past deeds, to him alone does she fall.”
28.139
Then Sītā was married by Rāma in supreme splendor, / and Kanaka's daughter by Bharata through the very same rites.
28.140
Having celebrated the great wedding festival there according to custom, / the excellent kings, accompanied by their forces, in due course returned to their own cities.
28.141
The sons of Daśaratha, proud in strength, served by the people, together with their new brides, / entered Sukōsala in due order, those best of men, bearing spotless renown.
28.142
Thus ends the twenty-eighth chapter, entitled “The Acquisition of the Precious Bows by Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa,” in the Paümacariya.
Linked texts (1)
- Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit