Paumacariya 62
English (machine translation) 62
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62.1
Then Padma, his mind deeply agitated and stricken with intense grief, / arrived with swift speed at the place where Lakṣmaṇa lay.
62.2
Seeing his brother pierced by the spear and prostrate on the ground, / Rāma, with tears streaming from his eyes, fell overwhelmed by a swoon.
62.3
Sprinkled with cool water and surrounded by the Vānaras, / Rāma regained consciousness and began to lament loudly with great pain:
62.4
'Alas, child! Having crossed the great ocean, so very difficult to traverse, / by the stroke of fate you have arrived at such an untimely end!
62.5
Why, O highly famed one, out of stubbornness do you not speak a word to me as I lament? / And you know that I cannot endure separation from you for even a moment!
62.6
You were entrusted to me by the elders, child, as a cherished deposit; / what answer shall I, devoid of all shame, give to them?
62.7
Pleasures, wealth, and various relationships are easy for a man to find in the world; / only this cannot be found: a brother, a mother, and a father!
62.8
Or else, in a past life, some most terrible sin was committed by me; / this evil fruit of that has now been realized on account of Sītā!
62.9
Today, these arms of mine, adorned with armlets, / have become a mere burden to my body, utterly useless!
62.10
Thus my wretched heart has been fashioned out of diamond by Fate, / since it does not burst upon seeing my brother fallen!
62.11
At that time, when five spears were hurled by the subduer of enemies, / you caught them, O noble hero! Now, not even one was stopped!
62.12
Surely, the spear must have been fashioned out of diamond splinters, / since it pierces Lakṣmaṇa's chest even though adorned with the Śrīvatsa!
62.13
Arise, beloved of Lakṣmī! Seizing your bow, do not delay! / Ward off these enemies who have fallen into my hands!'
62.14
And so long as a man [flourishes], O dear boy, this entourage delights before his eyes; / but when he falls into misfortune, that very same [entourage] turns its back and stands aloof.
62.15
And so long do others roar, having obtained their goals with charming words, / only until, like those who brandish many weapons, they do not behold the lion among enemies.
62.16
Even a proud man, when besieged alone by his enemies, / looking in all directions, remembers his heroic brother from the same womb.
62.17
Leaving you behind, O dear boy, when this great disaster has befallen here, / who, pondering his own welfare, will stand before me?
62.18
By your favor I have endured this strait of sorrow; / and now it is not known how I will wander all alone.
62.19
O friend, lord of the Vānaras, accompanied by your army, go without impediment / to the country fitting for your lineage; and you too quickly, Bhāmaṇḍala!
62.20
Not so much does the pain of separation from Sītā torment me, O Vibhīṣaṇa; / but indeed by your ruin, my heart is utterly consumed.
62.21
My warriors will all enter their own cities; / but you, alas Vibhīṣaṇa, to which country will you resort?
62.22
In this world the noble men do good deeds first, indeed unprompted; / those who are middling do so afterward; the base fail in both respects.
62.23
O Sugrīva! O Bhāmaṇḍala! Build my funeral pyre, do not delay! / I am going to the next world; you also do whatever you wish.
62.24
Seeing Padma resolved upon death, Jāmbavat said: / 'Resort to fortitude, abandon this grief, O lord!
62.25
Struck by a Vidyā-weapon, Lakṣmaṇa has fallen unconscious; / your brother will revive, O lord, there is no doubt of this.
62.26
Therefore, hastening in this night time, devise some means; / Lakṣmaṇa will certainly die once the sun has risen.'
62.27
Then those frightened monkey-warriors, by the employment of science, / erect three gateway towns and seven ramparts.
62.28
Accompanied by chariots, elephants, and horses, and by warriors bound in armor, / Nīla, bow in hand, was stationed at the first gate.
62.29
At the second, the high-souled, fierce Nala stood, mace in hand; / and at the third stood the heroic Vibhīṣaṇa, trident in hand.
62.30
At the fourth gate stood Kumuda, equipped and bound with a quiver; / and likewise Suṣeṇa stood at the fifth, having seized a spear.
62.31
Taking a sling, Sugrīva stood at the sixth gate; / at the seventh, the son of Janaka also stood, sword in hand.
62.32
At the eastern gate stood Śarabha, whose banner bore a śarabha, fierce in battle; / then prince Aṅgada was stationed at the other gate-tower.
62.33
Vālin’s son, Candraraśmi by name, endowed with the greatness of fierce pride, / guards the northern gate, who by his might does not bow even to Yama.
62.34
Thus, whatever other warriors endowed with strength, power, and fame there were, / equipped and clad in mail, stood in the southern direction.
62.35
Thus the encampment, entirely constructed among the dwellings of the Vidyādharas, / shone with bright splendor like the sky with constellations.
62.36
Neither the gods nor the chiefs of the Dānavas do for a living being’s benefit / what pure karma, once accumulated, does to ward off a man’s misery.
62.37
Thus concludes the sixty-second canto, named 'The Lament of Rāma', in the Paümacariya.
Linked texts (1)
- Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit