Paumacariya 79

English (machine translation) 79

Language: English

79.1

Then on the sixteenth day, having performed auspicious rites at dawn, / Rāghava, Saumitri, and Sītā mounted the Puṣpaka celestial chariot.

79.2

All the sky-going warriors, mounted on celestial chariots, chariots, elephants, and horses, / set out along with Rāma through the sky toward the city of Sākēta.

79.3

Sitting beside Padmarāja, Sītā asked her husband: / “What is this exceedingly vast thing that is seen situated in the middle of Jambūdvīpa?”

79.4

Padma said to his beloved: “Here the Jinas were anointed by the chief gods; / this is the excellent mountain named Meru, whose multitudes of peaks gleam with many jewels.

79.5

Dense like the mass of a cloud, filled with varied trees, flowers, and fruits, / this is the Daṇḍaka forest where you were abducted, noble lady!

79.6

And this is the Karṇaravā, a great river with surging pure waters, / on whose bank, O beautiful one, you gave alms to the ascetics.

79.7

This is seen, O beautiful one, the Vaṁśadhārī mountain, where omniscience arose / for the eminent chief munis Kulabhūṣaṇa and Deśabhūṣaṇa.”

79.8

"O dear one! That city is enriched with mansions and parks: [it is] Kūbara. / Here dwells Vālikhilya, without [sorrow], with Kalyāṇamālā."

79.9

"Look likewise, blessed lady, at the city of Daśārṇa. There Kulisaśrava, / a king whose gaze wanders nowhere else, lives together with his beloved wife."

79.10

Moving beyond that, she who delights the eyes said to her beloved: / "Which is this prominent city to be seen, resembling a city of the gods?"

79.11

And Rāghava said: "O beautiful one! This city is dear to my heart, / adorned by the Vidyādharas, delightful to the mind: the city of Sākēta."

79.12

Seeing the Puṣpaka celestial car approaching, Bharata, full of excitement, / mounted an elephant and rushed forward swiftly with his army to meet [them].

79.13

And seeing Bharata approaching with a troop of warriors, he whose radiance is like a lotus / brought the Puṣpaka car to a halt on the ground and stepped down from it.

79.14

Bharata, descending from the rutting elephant, bowed down swiftly with joy; / he was embraced with deep affection by Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.

79.15

Having conversed with one another, they mounted the Puṣpaka car once again; / surrounded by Vidyādhara warriors, they entered Kosala.

79.16

With chariots, elephants, and horses, and with rising hosts of troops crowding together, / the vault of the sky, the surface of the earth, and the city were obstructed as they entered.

79.17

Deep sounds of kettledrums, mṛdaṅgas, tilimās, kāhalas, and bells, / mingled with [the music of] Cāraṇas and Gandharvas [resounded].

Amid the neighing of horses and trumpeting of elephants, the noise of musical instruments, and the calls of bards, / they could not hear words spoken to one another, even when fallen right upon the ear.

79.19

As Haladhara and Nārāyaṇa, endowed with great splendor, / progressed along the royal road in this manner, all the city folk began to watch.

79.20

The windows of the mansions were quickly packed closely with the city women; / their faces shone resplendent, as though they were places blocked by lotus ponds with rows of lotus blooms.

79.21

Then, hastening in curiosity and jostling one another with their hands, / the bow-like curved women gazed upon Padma accompanied by Nārāyaṇa.

79.22

[One] said to another: "Friend! This is Lord Padma accompanied by Sītā; / and this is Lakṣmaṇa, who has come into the power of Viśalyā.

79.23

This is Great King Sugrīva, and this is the noble prince Aṅgada; / and here are Bhāmaṇḍala, Hanumat, Nala, Nīla, and Suṣeṇa.

79.24

Look, my friend! These and many other warriors, beginning with the sons of Candrodara, / are like gods, endowed with great majesty and possessed of beauty."

79.25

Thus Padma and the others, watched by the city people, / arrived at the royal palace, beautiful with fluttered, shifting, and raised banners.

79.26

Having seen her sons, Aparājitā stepped down from the palace; / then also Queen Kaikeyī and Sumitrā, the daughter of the Kaikayas.

79.27

Obtaining the sight of their sons as if in another birth, / eagerly engaged in many auspicious rites, they stood near them.

79.28

Seeing them, they hastily descended from the Puṣpaka car / with their entire retinue; then they bowed down to their mothers.

79.29

They, eager to see their sons, comforted [them] with affection, / and repeatedly kissed Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa upon the head.

79.30

At the reunion with their sons, their breasts flowed with milk; / the mothers of the heroes were filled with delight, their hair bristling with joy.

79.31

Having sat down upon seats offered to them together with their mothers, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa / engaged in various conversations, remaining there exceedingly pleased.

79.32

That one awakens from sleep, that a traveller returns home to be seen, / and that one who has fainted lives again—is this indeed not wondrous?

79.33

He who has long been abroad is seen; he who has long been distressed finds peace; / he who went into bondage is set free: this tale is well worn in the world.

79.34

Even a single religious vow undertaken attains extraordinary, great sovereign fortune; / therefore, practice the pure dharma of the Tīrthaṅkaras, which bears the fruit of the bliss of liberation.

79.35

Thus ends the seventy-ninth chapter of the Paümacariya, entitled "The Manner of the Reunion of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa [with Bharata and the Mothers]".

Linked texts (1)

Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit