[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Epic, Poetry, Drama & Narrative](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit) › [The Rāma story (Vālmīki and later versions)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana) › [The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki) › 2.63.9 # The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki 2.63.9 Vālmīkirāmāyaṇa 2.63.9 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [2.63.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.63.9) plavamānaś ca me dṛṣṭaḥ sa tasmin gomayahrade pibann añjalinā tailaṃ hasann iva muhur muhuḥ > The night those messengers of state > Had past within the city's gate, > In dreams the slumbering Bharat saw > A sight that chilled his soul with awe. > The dream that dire events foretold > Left Bharat's heart with horror cold, > And with consuming woes distraught, > Upon his aged sire he thought. > His dear companions, swift to trace > The signs of anguish on his face, > Drew near, his sorrow to expel, > And pleasant tales began to tell. > Some woke sweet music's cheering sound, > And others danced in lively round. > With joke and jest they strove to raise > His spirits, quoting ancient plays; > But Bharat still, the lofty-souled, > Deaf to sweet tales his fellows told, > Unmoved by music, dance, and jest, > Sat silent, by his woe oppressed, > To him, begirt by comrades near, > Thus spoke the friend he held most dear: > 'Why ringed around by friends, art thou > So silent and so mournful now?' > 'Hear thou,' thus Bharat made reply, > 'What chills my heart and dims mine eye, > I dreamt I saw the king my sire > Sink headlong in a lake of mire > Down from a mountain high in air, > His body soiled, and loose his hair. > Upon the miry lake he seemed > To lie and welter, as I dreamed; > With hollowed hands full many a draught > Of oil he took, and loudly laughed. > With head cast down I saw him make > A meal on sesamum and cake; > The oil from every member dripped, > And in its clammy flood he dipped. > The ocean's bed was bare and dry, > The moon had fallen from the sky, > And all the world lay still and dead, > With whelming darkness overspread. > The earth was rent and opened wide, > The leafy trees were scorched, and died; > I saw the seated mountains split. > And wreaths of rising smoke emit. > The stately beast the monarch rode > His long tusks rent and splintered showed; > And flames that quenched and cold hadlain > Blazed forth with kindled light again. > I looked, and many a handsome dame, > Arrayed in brown and sable came > And bore about the monarch, dressed, > On iron stool, in sable vest. > And then the king, of virtuous mind, > A blood-red wreath around him twined, > Forth on an ass-drawn chariot sped, > As southward still he bent his head. > Then, crimson-clad, a dame appeared > Who at the monarch laughed and jeered; > And a she-monster, dire to view, > Her hand upon his body threw. > Such is the dream I dreamt by night, > Which chills me yet with wild affright: > Either the king or Ráma, I > Or Lakshman now must surely die. > For when an ass-drawn chariot seems > To bear away a man in dreams, > Be sure above his funeral pyre > The smoke soon rears its cloudy spire. > This makes my spirit low and weak. > My tongue is slow and both to speak: > My lips and throat are dry for dread, > And all my soul disquieted. > My lips, relaxed, can hardly speak, > And chilling dread has changed my cheek > I blame myself in aimless fears, > And still no cause of blame appears, > I dwell upon this dream of ill > Whose changing scenes I viewed, > And on the startling horror still > My troubled thoughts will brood. > Still to my soul these terrors cling, > Reluctant to depart, > And the strange vision of the king > Still weighs upon my heart.' > — Ralph T. H. Griffith 1870, The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse - [Previous: 2.63.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.63.8) - [Next: 2.63.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.63.10) - [Up: 2.63](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.63) ## Translations (1) - [The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki~en-griffith.2.69.p1) — Ralph T. H. Griffith 1870, English ## Other recensions (2) - [Critical edition, Ayodhyā- and Araṇyakāṇḍa (revised e-text)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki*crit-revised.2.63.9) — Sanskrit - [Southern recension](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki*southern.2.63.9) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.63.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.ramayana.valmiki.2.63.9) · Pramāṇa