A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.s7.3

c11.s7.3

The *Raghuvaṇça*¹ is true to the type, for the central figure is Rāma, though in accord with the title the poem first sketches the history of the dynasty of the sun-born kings, descendants of the Ikṣvāku whose name occurs in the *Ṛgveda*, and whose family is renowned in the epic and the Purāṇas. This wide theme gives the poet full space to exercise his power of description; war and the coronation of a king, the choosing of her mate by a young princess at a Svayaṁvara, the marriage rite, the loss of a darling life and the grief of the bereaved husband, town and country, the seasons, the incidents of a great Digvijaya, the triumphal progress of a king who seeks to conquer the earth, all form occasions for the poet's skill. The poem carries us at once into an atmosphere strange to us; Dilīpa is king but childless; he learns that by chance when returning from a visit to Indra he has failed to show reverence to his sacred cow, who has cursed him; to make amends he determines to follow in worship the movements of her daughter, Nandinī, on earth; dutifully he carries out his vow, saves her from a lion by offering his own body in exchange, and Nandinī accords him the wish of his heart. Soon the father gazes, with eyes as still as lotus blossoms shielded from the wind, on the lovely face of his son, his heart overflows as the sea at the sight of the moon. The young Raghu waxes fast, is given the rank of Crown Prince and bidden guard the horse that must wander for a year before his father can perform the sacred horse sacrifice; the steed disappears, but with Nandinī's aid Raghu's eyes are opened until he can see where in the east Indra has taken the horse. Vainly he strives against the god, but pleased by his valour he accords him every wish save the return of the horse, and the gallant youth demands that his father shall have the full fruit of the sacrifice. The offering performed, Dilīpa gives to his son the white parasol, emblem of sovereignty, and, true to his family's rule, retires to the life of an ascetic in the forest (i-iii). Canto iv recounts the knightly adventures of Raghu as conqueror of India; he advances against the Suhmas, defeats the princes of Bengal, and erects pillars of victory on the islands of the Ganges; neither the elephants nor the arrow hail of Kaliṅga stay his course, Mahendra yields, the Kāverī is crossed, the south invaded, the Pāṇḍyas pay tribute of pearls. Thence the hero bends his path north, through the Malaya and Dardura hills, the sea of his host covers the long slopes of the Sahya mountain, the dust of the army clings to the hair of the ladies of Kerala, the Muralā river, the Trikūṭa hill witness his fame. Thence by land, as a pious king, not by the polluting sea, he advances against the Persians and the Yavanas, Greeks; the dust of the conflict hides the warring hosts whose presence is revealed by the twang of their bows alone, the bearded foemen cover thick the ground, those who escape death cast off their helms in token of submission; the victors wearied slake their thirst with wine. Next Raghu bids his steeds roll in the Indus—a variant has Oxus—sands, overthrows Hūṇas and Kāmbojas; the winds of the Himālaya set the reeds hymning his victories. The mountain folk feel his power, fire flashes from the mountain-sides beneath the rain of spears and arrows, and the folk of the Utsavas lose for ever their joy in festivals (*utsava*). The Lauhityā is crossed, Prāgjyotiṣa subdued, and Kāmarūpa yields tribute of wild elephants.