Ravanavadha 3
English (machine translation) 3
- Language
- English
3.1
By the slaying of meat-eaters in battle and by the overthrow of the exterminator of the Kṣatriyas, / the prince, abounding in renown, was there anyone to whom he was not dear?
3.2
Then the lord of the earth, having gladdened the citizens and servants, proclaiming loudly: / "I shall consecrate my son to the kingdom," once again made all the people joyful.
3.3
He ordered a lion-throne for him with a footstool, resembling blazing fire, / made of refined gold and lovely diamonds, with priceless jewels arranged in divisions.
3.4
He dispatched in crowds sturdy men with firmly knit limbs, / accompanied by golden pitchers, foot-messengers, to all sides quickly for sacred waters.
3.5
Skilled men appointed to tasks by the king sprinkled the roads of the city, / hoisted flags, released aerial incenses, and adorned the directions with diverse flowers.
3.6
Not having asked Bharata then, who had gone to his maternal grandfather's abode, through delusion, / Kaikeyī, unable to endure that, demanded Rāma's journey to the forest.
3.7
Greedy for the kingdom planted by whisperers, reduced to perversity by womanly shallowness, / she considered no fault in Rāma's exile—neither public reproach nor the death of the king.
3.8
Even as the king was promising treasures and provinces in order to turn Rāma back, / he was disregarded by her; and the consecration of Bharata was driven like a dart of despair into his mind.
3.9
Then the king, wishing to banish the prince, grieving, ordered / his departure for the forest in a chariot driven by Sumantra, accompanied by Sītā and the son of Sumitrā.
3.10
Some blamed the unrestrained king; some wailed aloud with tears; / others spoke of Bharata's deceit; another said, "Fie on Kaikeyī!"
3.11
"Rāma will be gone to the forest tomorrow"—at this, the people burned excessively with sorrow; / but the steadfast others there, shedding their anger, set their minds on following the prince.
3.12
About to depart, the two of them spoke thus to those who approached, grieving deeply: / "Alas, why do you grieve for us in this advancement, having achieved our purpose by obtaining our father's command?
3.13
He who created us, and who protected us in dangers, who always nourished us with complete care— / is there any release from that great debt of service by a mere journey to the forest?
3.14
Better that he perish like the flashing of lightning, or wither upward like a dry blade of grass, / who does not abide by the command of his elders in a difficult matter, let alone in exile!"
3.15
"Citizens, turn back!" he said, "Be dispellers of my father's grief; / do not see Bharata as different from me!" And he said to the charioteer: "Turn the chariot."
3.16
Having perceived the readiness of the people to go by their gestures, having slept for one night with the citizens, / protecting them from the danger arising from dwelling in the forest, Rāma slipped away at dawn by a deceit.
3.17
They shed tears, crying pitifully; again and again they heaved lukewarm sighs; / saying, "Alas, Rāma! Alas, what misery!", they turned back with reluctant minds.
3.18
The charioteer too, having purified himself along with his horses in the waters of the Gaṅgā, deeply grieved, / thinking of the two descendants of Raghu accompanied by Sītā, entered the city breathing lukewarm sighs.
3.19
Upon his return, that city was seen by the people as like the sky deprived of the sun and the cool-rayed moon, / though filled with constellations of nobles, its every activity halted by the darkness of grief.
3.20
Seeing Sumantra without Rāma, the king lost courage, his hope destroyed; / he tasted no sweet drinks, anointed himself with no perfumes, and put on no lovely garments.
3.21
He rested nowhere from sorrow, and withdrew from the affairs that kings must do or not do; / smeared with sandalwood, vetiver, and lotus-fibers, he went to dwell in heaven through the fire of grief.
3.22
The wives of the earth's protector wailed aloud, tore their hair, beat their bodies, / threw off their ornaments, fell to the ground, and broke their bracelets.
3.23
Consoling them while awaiting Bharata, the kinsfolk quickly laid him in oil, / and by the counsel of the ministers they dispatched swift messengers to bring the king's son.
3.24
Bharata, dwelling in his mother's family, had said to his companions: "Sleeping, I saw the sun fallen from the sky, flashing below," / already foreseeing disaster for the king.
3.25
When the messengers arrived and made him hear the urgent news, wishing to set him on the march, / he, longing for his elders and eager to set out, sped swiftly on his way.
3.26
Deeply agitated, out of love he suspected that disaster had befallen his kinsmen; / packs of jackals and flocks of deer did not pass favorably on the right, and howled terribly.
3.27
Having lived abroad, arriving and about to enter the city, he heard no roar born of the crowd of people, / listened for no sounds of the Veda, and perceived no barters and gains of the merchants.
3.28
Coming to meet him, the mothers wept aloud beside the king, their tears flowing, / and the warriors, led by the royal priest and ministers, had their neck-tendons swollen with mounting fury.
3.29
When looking all around he did not see Rāma together with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa, / weeping incessantly he then questioned them, and they related to him the event as it happened.
3.30
Forming a terrible knitting of the brows, his eyes growing very fierce, red, and swollen, / he loudly rebuked Kaikeyī, and plunged repeatedly and ceaselessly into sorrow.
3.31
"The two princes have suffered together with Sītā; the king has died; you are widows; / we are pitiable; the earth is without a king: this degradation originated by Kaikeyī, alas, is a vast calamity!"
3.32
Saying, "This was never my wish," he swore oaths by the thousands, / wailing aloud for his father and Rāma, rolling on the ground in sorrow, weeping constantly.
3.33
Restoring him to composure, the ministers, wishing to burn the lord of men, carried him near, / together with the brahmins, desiring to heap up the collection of sacrificial vessels so as to offer the final oblation.
3.34
They raised banners of silk and fine cloth, played upon flutes, mṛdaṅga drums, and cymbals, / blew loud conches on all sides, and likewise brought saffron and sandalwood.
3.35
Covering his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth with pieces of gold, laying him with head to the east on an antelope skin, / and arranging the vessels according to rule, the priest sacrificed into the blazing funeral pyre.
3.36
When the offerings of funeral cakes and water were completed, Bharata, renouncing the consecration arranged by the subjects, / set out for the forest accompanied by the citizens, wishing with reverence to bring Rāma back.
3.37
With people hastening, filling the directions, moving along paths and off paths, / devoid of ornaments from grief, mingled with lordly elephants, chariots, and horses, the earth shone.
3.38
The woods yielded flowers and fruits; they bathed in the rivers and pleased their ancestors; / they fearlessly approached and occupied the sandy banks, and taking shelter in the shade, they rested.
3.39
Reaching the bank of the river Tamasā, enjoying purity by contact with the waters of the Gaṅgā, / their weariness checked, they went to plunge into the holy water of the Yamunā.
3.40
They went to the hermitage of the sage Bharadvāja, where Rāma had rested on arriving, / his hunger dispelled by the abundance of fruits, banishing his thirst with cool waters.
3.41
Bharadvāja, the sage, who taught with discipline the silent ascetics lying on bare ground, / striving ever for union and desiring liberation, bowed down on foot together with his disciples.
3.42
When by the power of his yoga he wished to distribute hospitality to them, the wish-granting trees yielded fruit, / and, of vast expanse, produced garments soft and long.
3.43
Awaiting commands, attending with modesty, singing with passion, dancing with graceful gestures, / Tilottamā and the other women bowed with charm and spoke generously to them.
3.44
Having arranged in that space according to taste varied garments, food, drink, and beds, / the sage then, full of delight, said to them: "Clothe yourselves, sit, drink, eat, and sleep!"
3.45
Having eaten, comfortably clad in garments, and having spent the night, at daybreak / they quickly traversed the road with chariots, horses, and elephants, and reached the Mandākinī of delightful forests.
3.46
Having heard news of Rāma from the forest hermits, they then made their way / toward Mount Citrakūṭa, its flocks of birds twittering, its peak licking the clouds, obstructing the path of the sun.
3.47
Seeing host after host of troops covering the directions, Lakṣmaṇa strung his bow Śārṅga, put on his armor, / and, eager to fight with sharp arrows, stood raising his brow and eyes.
3.48
Bearing white upper garments, unarmed, arriving slowly on foot, deep in sorrow, / Rāma perceived those kinsmen of his, their hostile thoughts gone, desiring to salute him.
3.49
Rubbing out completely [their grief], weeping, their surge of anger intensified, / they approached Rāma and announced aloud that the king was dead from the sorrow of separation from Rāma.
3.50
Having wept for a long time piteously and with loud cries, approaching the river and reciting his lineage, / a double handful of water was offered from the midst of the water near the stream by Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa.
3.51
"Father assigned to me the forest journey, which is easy to perform, but to you, alas, the kingdom, which is difficult! / O hero, do not grieve! Bear this burden!" So Rāma addressed words to his younger brother.
3.52
"If you, capable, learned, and wise among the views of the elders, were not to obey your father's word, / even when a lineage is broken, how could any other man here desire a son?
3.53
If you value our word, and if you have no authority while I exist, / if you are ashamed not to stand by father's command, abandon doubt, go, and rule the earth!"
3.54
"How could I, the younger, dare to bear the burden of the kingdom
that belongs to elder sons? Do not set me upon the destruction of the family’s fame,"
Bharata likewise said righteously to Rāma.
3.55
"These mighty elephants and horses, these jewels fitting for a king,
and this body of warriors—that while you are present I should become the lord of the earth:
may that be averted!"
3.56
To him who had spoken thus, the descendant of Raghu said: "Go, Bharata! Taking my two sandals,
freed from all doubt and worshipped by the multitudes of people,
rule over the kingdom of the whole world according to our resolve."
Commentaries (4)
- Sarvapathīnā — Mallinātha Sūri, Sanskrit
- Jayamaṅgalā — Jayamaṅgala, Sanskrit
- Bhaṭṭikāvyavyākhyā — Harisvāmin, Sanskrit
- Bhaṭṭikāvyaṭīkā — Bharatamallīka, Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Rāvaṇavadha — Bhaṭṭi, Sanskrit